PROCEEDINGS  ‘^  vi  4' 

3  si  ;  / / 


OF  THE 


MEETING  OF 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS 


HELD  IN 


TOPEKA,  KANSAS, 

August  28,  29, 
1907. 


STATE  PRINTING  OFFICE, 
TOPEKA,  1907. 


714 


K'a'nsa  s-  Edataf  \o~r\ 

PROCEEDINGS 


.  i  nth  tr 
'  rr‘^ r' y  01  a  i 
u  fi  !■  /;  I!  * 


OF  THE 


MEETING  OF 

COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS 


HELD  IN 


TOPEKA,  KANSAS, 


August  28,  29, 

1907. 


STATE  PRINTING  OFFICE, 
TOPEKA,  1907. 


CAPITOL  BUILDING,  TOPEKA. 


379*  7  W 
tf/3 


/2*  7 


TO  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENTS  AND  ALL  INTER¬ 
ESTED  IN  THE  CAUSE  OF  COMMON-SCHOOL 
EDUCATION. 


This  bulletin  is  an  attempt  to  furnish  to  you  an  account  of  the 
recent  meeting  of  county  superintendents,  at  Topeka,  on  August 
28  and  29.  A  part  of  the  program  we  are  able  to  give  somewhat 
fully;  other  parts  only  furnish  a  small  portion,  as  our  notes  are 
not  complete. 

To  those  superintendents  who  were  unable  to  be  with  us  we  ex¬ 
press  the  hope  that  you  will  read  the  matter  herein  contained  and 
that  you  may  catch  something  of  the  spirit  of  enthusiasm  and  in¬ 
spiration  that  characterized  this  meeting.  No  mere  recital  of  the 
papers  and  talks  can  serve  to  give  a  complete  picture  of  this  meet¬ 
ing.  The  commingling  of  superintendents,  the  opportunity  for 
exchange  of  views  and  experiences,  and  the  incentive  that  comes 
of  such  association,  cannot  be  transmitted  to  paper.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  it  is  the  testimony  of  every  one  present  that  it  was  the 
very  best  meeting  of  its  kind  ever  held  in  the  state.  The  superin¬ 
tendents  were  all  agreed  that  they  had  been  more  than  repaid  for 
the  time  and  money  spent  in  coming,  and  are  enthusiastic  in  their 
belief  that  the  county  superintendents’  meeting  should  be  made  an 
annual  and  a  permanent  feature  of  our  educational  system. 

That  you  may  gather  something  of  value  to  you  as  you  read 
these  pages,  and  that  the  cause  of  our  common  schools  may  be 
made  the  better  thereby,  is  my  sincere  wish. 


Very  truly  yours, 

E.  T.  FAIRCHILD, 

State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction . 


KANSAS. 

105  counties.  9,OCO  school-houses.  508,730  school  children.  12,234  teachers. 


PROCEEDINGS, 

AUGUST  38  and  39,  1907. 


Topeka,  Kan,,  August  28,  1H07. 
According  to  the  call  of  State  Supt.  E.  T.  Fairchild,  the  county 
superintendents’  meeting  was  convened  on  the  above  dates  in  the 
supreme  court  room  at  the  capitol  building.  The  roll-call  by 
counties  showed  that  there  were  present  more  than  half  of  the 
county  superintendents  at  the  first  session.  Superintendent  Fair- 
child  then  delivered  an  address,  which  was  in  part  as  follows: 

Fellow  Superintendents :  I  want  to  congratulate  you  and  I  want  to  con¬ 
gratulate  the  state  of  Kansas  upon  the  splendid  attendance  we  have  here 
to-day.  It  speaks  well  for  the  present  and  future  development  of  our 
schools.  There  is  no  other  body  of  people  anywhere  that  exercises  a  wider 
or  more  profound  influence  upon  educational  affairs  than  yourselves. 

I  realize  that  many  of  you  are  here  to-day  at  a  cost  in  personal  sacrifice, 
both  of  time  and  money,  greater  possibly  than  public  interest  would  seem 
to  justify.  I  am  confident,  however,  that  you  will  be  more  than  repaid  in 
that  form  of  coin  upon  which  the  teacher  must  so  much  depend,  and  which 
supplements  the  actual  dollars  received.  You  will  have  the  satisfaction,  I 
trust,  of  knowing  that  it  has  been  good  to  be  here;  that  you  have  learned 
of  methods  and  gathered  of  inspiration  to  a  degree  that  will  make  you  a  bet¬ 
ter,  a  more  capable,  and,  if  possible,  a  more  conscientious  superintendent. 

I  have  looked  forward  to  this  meeting  with  the  greatest  eagerness,  in  the 
firm  and  full  conviction  that  it  means  unlimited  good  to  the  cause  of  com¬ 
mon-school  education.  I  verily  believe  that  this  meeting  is  to  mark  an  era 
in  the  history  of  education  in  Kansas.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people  as  never  before  to  respond  to  such  united  effort  as  we  may 
make.  You  have  come  here  from  the  different  parts  of  the  state;  have 
come  from  different  environments,  each  with  his  own  problem,  and  yet  each 
with  the  same  problem  in  view— how  best  to  be  of  service  to  the  boy  and  the 
girl. 

Now  that  we  are  here,  let  us  sink,  if  possible,  every  consideration  of 
personal  interest  or  personal  ambition,  and  confine  our  efforts  and  our  dis¬ 
cussions  to  these  broader  problems  which  mean  so  much  to  the  schools  under 
our  supervision. 

I  have  presented  to  you  a  program  which  you,  no  doubt,  have  observed  is 
intensive  rather  than  extensive.  It  has  seemed  best  to  confine  ourselves  to 
a  few  pressing  problems  and  discuss  them,  rather  than  to  attempt  to  cover 
a  wider  field.  I  trust  that  this  program  will,  in  a  large  measure,  meet  your 
approval,  and  that  every  superintendent  here  will  feel  that  this  is  absolutely 
his  meeting;  that  it  is  a  meeting  of,  for  and  by  superintendents.  Only  the 

(5) 


6 


Proceedings  of 


frankest  and  fullest  discussions  will  make  of  this  meeting  the  meeting  it 
ought  to  be.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  anticipate  the  program,  yet  I  trust 
you  will  pardon  me  if  I  again  call  your  attention  somewhat  in  detail  to  the 
matters  of  interest  it  provides : 

The  “Common-school  Course  of  Study”  is  an  agent  of  the  greatest  ef¬ 
ficiency  in  school  work.  Many  county  superintendents  have  used  it  consci¬ 
entiously  and  have  secured  splendid  results.  There  is  a  feeling,  however, 
that  in  some  counties  it  has  not  received  the  attention  it  deserves,  that  its 
real  importance  is  only  dimly  felt;  and  it  is  hoped  the  papers  and  discussions 
on  this  subject  may  lead  to  a  more  general  knowledge  of  the  possibilities  to 
be  secured  through  the  use  of  the  Course  of  Study,  and  that  it  may  come  to 
be  used  in  every  county  in  the  state. 

“County  Graduation,”  unfortunately,  frequently  means  one  thing  in  one 
county  and  an  entirely  different  thing  in  another  county.  The  requirements 
for  graduation,  it  seems,  vary  more  than  they  should.  It  is  hoped  that  we 
will  be  able  to  agree  while  here  upon  certain  standards  and  upon  certain 
methods  of  determining  the  kind  and  character  of  the  work  done,  so  that 
everywhere  graduation  in  one  county  may  in  effect  stand  for  just  as  much 
as  it  does  in  another  county. 

As  to  the  “Barnes  Law,”  you  are  aware  of  the  great  importance  of  this 
measure  in  Kansas.  It  was  adopted  at  the  recent  election  by  forty-three 
counties.  In  most  of  these  counties  it  is  being  received  in  an  enthusiastic 
spirit  and  splendid  results  are  anticipated.  In  a  few  of  the  counties  the 
commissioners  and  people  are  lacking  in  interest,  or  are  its  declared  enemies. 
I  trust  that  the  discussion  of  this  subject  will  remove  many  quest  ons  of 
doubt,  make  clear  to  all  the  desirability  of  such  a  law,  and  enlist  each  of  us 
as  its  champion. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  opportunity  of  the  county  superintendent  is  in  the 
visitation  of  schools,  and  yet  the  real  importance  or  benefit  to  be  derived  de¬ 
pends,  after  all,  so  much  upon  the  personality  and  heart-power  of  the  su¬ 
perintendent.  If  he  is  wise  and  kindly  and  helpful,  his  visit  will  result  in 
the  greatest  good  to  the  schools.  He  may  be  an  inspiration  both  to  the  pu¬ 
pils  and  to  the  teachers.  His  good  judgment  and  large  experience  will  enable 
him  to  smooth  over  many  of  the  rough  places  in  the  work,  and  his  experience 
should  be  invaluable  in  assisting  the  teacher  to  the  real  use  of  her  power. 
Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  weaknesses  in  our  rural  schools  to-day  is  the 
lack  of  close  supervision.  It  may  be  that  the  experience  of  some  of  you 
who  are  present  will  enable  us  to  solve  that  problem. 

In  “Elementary  Agriculture”  you  are  to  discuss  a  subject  that  is  not 
only  of  interest  to  you  but  that  is  of  interest  to  the  entire  state.  Many  of 
our  people  outside  of  the  teaching  profession  are  studying  this  question,  are 
believing  in  its  importance  and  are  confidently  hoping  that  through  you  it 
will  be  put  into  effect  in  the  schools  and  that  great  good  will  be  accomplished. 

In  the  matter  of  the  “Teachers’  and  Pupils’  Reading  Circle  Work,”  it 
would  be  superfluous  for  me  to  speak  of  the  great  importance  of  this  sub¬ 
ject.  The  chief  question  is  not,  should  we  have  reading  circle  work,  but, 
what  shall  be  its  character  and  by  what  means  can  we  secure  the  best  re¬ 
sults  to  both  teachers  and  pupils? 

On  the  subject  of  “Consolidation,”  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  regard  it 
as  unquestionably  the  solution  of  the  rural-school  problem.  Here,  if  any¬ 
where,  we  may  begin  to  build  up  such  schools  as  you  and  I  firmly  believe 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


7 


the  country  boy  and  the  country  girl  are  entitled  to.  In  this  type  of  school 
we  may  hope  for  longer  terms,  larger  enrolment,  better  wages,  and,  best  of 
all,  better  teachers. 

I  sincerely  trust,  fellow  teachers,  that  the  discussions  that  are  soon  to 
follow  shall  prove  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  us.  Let  us  make  of  this  meet¬ 
ing  a  splendid  success,  so  that  we  may  go  home  with  more  enthusiasm  and 
greater  inspiration  to  our  work. 

I  have  asked  you  to  come  together  for  counsel  for  the  reason  that  I  be¬ 
lieve  the  time  is  ripe  for  a  great  forward  movement  in  our  common  schools. 
The  universities  of  our  land,  the  colleges,  the  high  schools,  and  even  the 
village  schools,  are  experiencing  a  season  of  prosperity  and  efficiency  alto¬ 
gether  unknown  in  their  previous  history.  They  have  partaken  of  the  gen¬ 
eral  wave  of  prosperity,  and  are  in  close  step  with  the  forward  march  of 
progress.  So  important  have  they  become  that  the  people  everywhere  are 
made  aware  of  their  prosperity,  and  seemingly  are  anxious  that  their  sons 
and  their  daughters  shall  participate  in  the  benefits  to  be  secured  at  these 
seats  of  higher  learning. 

The  state,  in  its  prosperity,  has  treated  our  state  institutions  with  signal 
liberality.  The  recent  legislature  appropriated  nearly  two  million  dollars 
for  the  three  state  institutions  and  their  branches.  This  was  splendidly 
done,  and  the  people  of  the  state,  and  especially  the  educators  everywhere, 
applaud  the  act  most  heartily. 

Through  the  agency  of  the  county-high-school  act  and  the  Barnes  law,  sec¬ 
ondary  education  has  taken  on  new  life,  and  this  work  is  being  performed 
more  efficiently  than  ever  before.  Again,  wages  have  increased  in  every 
department  of  the  educational  field.  All  this  would  seem  to  indicate  that 
Kansas  has  reached  a  most  enviable  position  in  her  school  system,  and  that 
she  may  well  pause  to  felicitate  herself  upon  her  educational  advancement. 
Nevertheless  it  is  my  deliberate  judgment  that  in  the  department  of  rural 
schools  there  has  been  no  such  awakening  on  the  part  of  the  public,  nor  has 
there  been  any  such  increased  efficiency  as  we  have  noted  in  the  other  lines 
of  educational  effort.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  underestimate  the  excellent 
character  of  the  work  that  is  being  done  in  many  of  the  common  schools. 
Faithful  effort  is  being  put  forth  in  every  county.  I  have  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  scholastic  attainment  of  the  average  teacher  of  the  average 
country  school  is  as  good  to-day  as  it  has  ever  been,  but  there  are  many 
reasons,  it  seems  to  me,  to  doubt  whether  the  teaching  force  in  this  type  of 
schools  is  any  better  as  a  whole  than  it  has  been  at  any  time  in  the  past 
history  of  our  state.  When  we  realize  that  in  the  last  ten  years  the  number 
of  male  teachers  in  Kansas  has  decreased  more  than  thirty-eight  per  cent. ; 
when  we  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  average  age  of  the  teachers  of  the  coun¬ 
try  schools  is,  in  many  counties,  possibly  under  twenty;  and  when  we  grasp 
the  significance  of  the  statement  that  in  many  counties  the  number  of  inex¬ 
perienced  teachers  in  the  common  schools  is  frequently  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
whole,  we  may  well  be  solicitous  as  to  the  result.  Granting  that  these 
young  people  in  text-book  knowledge  are  as  well  trained,  or  even  better 
trained  than  their  predecessors  of  a  decade  ago,  yet  it  seems  to  me  clearly 
true  that  these  people,  with  their  limited  experience  of  life,  are  by  no  means 
as  helpful  and  efficient  teachers  as  those  of  more  mature  age. 

The  average  citizen  is  wont  to  think  that  our  schools  are  better  and 
stronger  because  of  the  fact  that  wages  have  increased.  Experience,  how- 


8 


Proceedings  of 


ever,  does  not  seem  to  justify  this  conclusion.  In  a  large  part  it  is  the 
same  body  of  teachers,  or  at  least  the  same  class  of  teachers,  that  is  re¬ 
ceiving  this  increased  wage.  The  real  trouble  is  that  the  people  have  been 
content  to  look  with  satisfaction  and  approval  upon  the  advancement  in  the 
higher  phases  of  education,  and  have  too  frequently  utterly  neglected  to  in¬ 
vestigate  conditions  as  they  are  in  the  foundation  work.  Both  teachers  and 
the  public  in  general  are  looking  so  intently  at  the  imposing  buildings  of 
high  schools  and  colleges  and  universities  that  they  fail  to  see  the  intervening 
and  humble  schoolhouses  of  the  rural  districts.  It  may  be  that  we  have 
come  to  be  more  interested  in  the  things  that  are  taking  place  in  these 
higher  institutions  than  we  are  as  to  the  quality  of  work  that  is  being 
done  in  the  common  schools.  The  papers  but  recently  gave  out  the  state¬ 
ment  that  the  population  of  our  state  is  now  1,651,000.  Sixty-two  per  cent, 
of  this  population  live  in  the  country,  or  in  villages  of  less  than  1000  people. 
This,  in  round  numbers,  then,  represents  the  rural  population,  and  it  would 
seem,  if  we  are  to  base  a  mitter  of  importance  upon  quantity,  that  much 
more  should  be  done  for  the  rural  school  than  for  any  other  type. 

I  believe,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  you  and 
I  must  do  our  best  to  arouse  the  public  to  the  need  of  more  efficient  service 
in  the  rural  school. 

There  are  but  nine  states  in  the  Union  that  do  not  have  some  fQrm  of 
state  tax  for  the  public  schools.  Kansas  is  in  this  list,  and  of  these  nine, 
eight  of  the  states  provide  for  a  county  tax  which  is  to  all  intents  and  pur¬ 
poses  a  state  tax,  so  that  we  come  to  the  final  and  unhappy  fact  that  Kan¬ 
sas  is  the  only  state  in  the  Union  that  fails  to  provide  a  state  tax  for  the 
benefit  of  its  public  schools. 

We  are  indeed  glad  that  the  state  should  give  largely  of  its  wealth  to 
our  higher  institutions,  but  at  the  same  time  we  plead  for  a  law  that  shall 
recognize  the  fact  that  nearly  seventy  per  cent,  of  our  boys  and  girls  re¬ 
ceive  their  education  in  the  rural  schools,  and  that  shall  provide  a  reason¬ 
able  sum  of  money  that  will  find  its  way  out  into  the  common  or  rural 
schools. 

This  fact  remains,  that  the  great  duty  resting  upon  the  educationa 
forces  to-day  is  to  do  something  that  will  arouse  the  interest  of  the  people 
as  never  before  to  the  needs  of  the  rural  schools.  I  am  hoping,  fellow  su¬ 
perintendents,  that  this  shall  be  the  key-note  of  this  meeting;  that  we  shall 
feel  constantly  that  we  are  here  representing  the  boys  and  the  girls  of  the 
country  districts.  The  responsibility  rests  upon  us  in  some  way  to  start  in 
motion  a  movement  that  shall  gather  as  it  grows  and  make  for  the  develop¬ 
ment  and  betterment  of  our  schools.  If  we  can  do  this,  will  it  not  be  well 
worth  our  while? 

I  have  thought  upon  this  meeting,  fellow  superintendents,  with  its  tre¬ 
mendous  possibilities,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  county  superintendents 
have  been  working  as  a  separate  body  whose  purposes  did  not  run  parallel; 
it  has  seemed  to  me  that  these  great  problems  of  which  I  have  spoken 
may  be  solved  if  only  we  can  get  together  and  work  as  one.  If  we  can  feel 
that  each  is  a  part  of  a  great  whole  working  for  a  common  purpose;  if  we 
can  bring  about  solidarity  of  the  105  superintendents  of  this  state  and  work 
together,  there  is  absolutely  no  reasonable  measure  that  we  might  advocate 
that  we  may  not  secure.  Let  us  make,  then,  of  this  meeting  what  we 
ought ;  give  it  our  best  thought  and  our  best  attention,  and  go  home  with 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting. 


9 


added  knowledge,  enthusiasm  and  inspiration  to  help  the  boys  and  girls  in 
our  charge.  Come  here  again  another  year  and  let  us  have  a  still  better 
meeting.  With  such  a  history  I  believe  that  I  have  a  plan  absolutely  feasible, 
and  that  will  simply  make  this  meeting  permanent,  and  insure  the  attend¬ 
ance  of  105  county  superintendents  each  year.  My  plan  is  this  :  to  ask  the 
next  legislature  to  see  to  it  that  there  is  enacted  into  law  a  provision  re¬ 
quiring  the  county  commissioners  of  each  county  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
county  superintendent  to  the  annual  meeting.  Such  a  plan  is  reasonable 
and  just,  and  I  am  sure  will  appeal  to  any  legislature  as  being  proper,  and 
that  it  will  be  enacted  into  law  Think  of  it !  In  all  the  history  to  come  of 
this  state  we  are  to  have  annual  meetings.  We  are  to  grow  in  solidarity ; 
we  are  to  grow  in  the  sense  of  our  interrelation  We  will  understand  year 
by  year  more  and  more  clearly  the  great  problems  that  come  before  us. 
We  will  become  a  greater  and  greater  force. 

Another  thing  that  I  shall  proclaim  whenever  opportunity  affords  is  this: 
If  our  schools  are  to  be  effective  they  must  be  lifted  up  and  out  of  politics. 
At  the  last  election  I  suspect  that  there  were  as  many  as  fifty  superinten¬ 
dents  in  this  state  of  ours  that  were  relegated  to  private  life  for  purely 
political  reasons.  They  had  served  two  terms  and  way  must  be  made  for 
others.  They  were  retired  from  the  work  they  were  just  becoming  profi¬ 
cient  in  to  give  place  to  those  of  absolutely  no  experience.  What  city  in 
this  state  would  think  of  employing  a  superintendent  for  its  schools  with  the 
distinct  understanding  that  by  no  means  was  he  to  be  retained  for  a  period 
of  more  than  four  years  ?  Such  things  are  simply  not  considered  by  boards 
of  education  in  the  cities  of  our  state.  The  one  demand  is  that  they  shall 
render  efficient  service.  Until  the  people  of  our  state  can  take  a  broader 
and  saner  view  relative  to  our  county  superintendents,  we  cannot  hope  for 
the  best  results. 

State  aid,  closer  supervision,  consolidation  for  the  rural  schools.  Let 
this  be  our  motto. 

The  next  subject  for  discussion  was  “The  Common-school  Course 
of  Study.”  ( a )  “A  Necessity,”  Supt.  Geo.  Allen,  jr.,  Holton;  (b) 
“How  to  Insure  its  Use,”  Supt.  Geo.  T.  Codding,  Westmoreland; 
( c )  “The  Program,  with  Emphasis  on  Alternation,”  Supt.  A.  W. 
Hamilton,  Hutchinson. 

Following  are  Superintendent  Allen’s  remarks  on  the  sub-topic, 
“The  Common-school  Course:  A  Necessity.” 

“In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth:  And  the  earth 
was  without  form  and  void;  .  .  .  And  God  said,  ‘Let  there  be  light:  ’  and 
there  was  light.”  He  then  created  the  sun  to  rule  the  day  and  the  moon  to 
govern  the  night.  We  thus  see  that  order  and  system  are  of  divine  orig  n. 
Man  has  done  well  to  follow  the  example  so  set  and  to  carry  the  same  idea 
into  all  lines  of  his  activity.  He  has  certain  hours  for  work,  for  recreation, 
and  for  sleep.  He  performs  his  work  in  a  certain  way.  He  subdivides  it, 
assigning  to  one  work  and  the  performance  of  one  duty,  and  to  another  one 
the  performance  of  another  duty.  The  result  is  that  more  has  been  accom¬ 
plished,  and  that,  too,  in  a  more  satisfactory  manner. 

The  schools,  following  this  plan,  were  improved  from  time  to  time,  tardy 
though  they  often  were.  Centuries  and  centuries  ago  it  was  seen  that  some 


10 


Proceedings  of 


studies  were  of  greater  value  than  others.  And  so  we  read  of  the  trivium 
and  the  quadrivium.  In  modern  times  the  same  thing  is  true.  The  three 
R’s  have  been  doubled  and  then  trebled.  Within  the  past  decade  two 
studies,  civics  and  Kansas  history,  have  been  added  to  the  eight  previously 
taught  in  the  common  schools  of  Kansas;  and  now  we  want  to  add  to  these, 
elementary  agriculture. 

In  the  daily  program  radical  changes  have  been  made.  Under  the  old 
regime  a  class  recited  whenever  it  was  ready.  If  it  wasn’t  prepared,  some 
other  class  recited  in  its  stead.  Hence,  when  the  lessons  were  easy  or  pleas¬ 
ant  to  study,. the  class  recited  every  day;  otherwise  it  did  not.  But  such  a 
system  was  not  a  good  one,  and  the  program  of  to-day,  in  which  every  class 
recites  every  day,  is  the  result. 

Uniformity  of  text-books  was  a  growth.  Old  teachers  of  my  county  tell 
me  that  twenty-five  years  ago  in  the  same  school  frequently  were  found 
several  different  series  of  readers,  or  of  arithmetics,  or  of  histories,  each 
pupil  studying  the  books  he  or  his  older  brother  brought  from  the  old  home 
further  east.  Then  followed  district  uniformity,  then  county,  and  at  last 
state,  with  the  prices  cut  in  two. 

A  uniform  course  of  study  has  developed  in  much  the  same  way.  Col¬ 
leges,  academies  and  high  schools,  as  in  other  matters,  were  the  leaders.  A 
definite  amount  of  work  in  the  different  branches  was  to  be  accomplished, 
and  that  along  a  certain  line  of  instruction.  City  schools  then  saw  the  wis¬ 
dom  of  the  system,  and  before  long  a  city  having  no  adopted  course  of  study 
was  “a  back  number.”  Rather  elaborate  manuals  were  prepared,  outlining 
the  work  in  detail  from  month  to  month,  and  offering  many  helpful  sugges¬ 
tions  to  the  teachers.  For  such  schools  no  one  has  doubted  the  value  of  a 
good  course  of  study. 

The  last  to  take  up  the  idea  of  a  uniform  course  were  the  rural  schools, 
and  yet  they  were  the  schools  needing  it  most.  In  a  city  system,  under 
the  close  supervision  of  a  city  superintendent  or  principal,  who  might  visit 
each  teacher  every  day  or  two,  and  where  that  teacher  had  but  one  or  two 
grades,  a  course  of  study  might  be  dispensed  with  much  more  readily  than 
in  the  country  school  with  its  multiplicity  of  classes  and  its  loose  supervision. 

In  a  rural  school,  where  teachers  are  changed  two  or  three  times  during 
the  year,  as  is  the  case  in  several  of  our  Northern  states,  some  considerable 
difficulty  might  be  experienced  in  following  a  course  of  study  closely,  but 
even  there  it  would  be  advisable ;  while  in  a  state  where  conditions  exist  as 
they  do  in  Kansas,  or  in  Illinois,  whose  schools  have  been  so  much  improved 
by  their  famous  course  of  study,  there  is  no  valid  argument  against  its  adop¬ 
tion  and  use.  The  only  real  difficulty  is  in  acquainting  teachers  with  the 
course  and  in  giving  it  a  fair  trial.  After  that  its  value  is  apparent.  It  is 
a  great  help  to  the  pupil,  to  the  teacher,  and  to  the  county  superintendent. 

To  the  pupil  it  is  of  real  value,  for  then  he  knows  just  what  is  expected 
of  him  during  each  of  the  nine  years  of  the  common-school  course.  Not 
only  that,  but  for  each  month  there  is  something  definite  for  him  to  accom¬ 
plish  Consequently  he  attends  with  greater  regularity,  and,  when  through, 
graduates  at  fourteen  or  fifteen  instead  of  at  seventeen  or  eighteen,  as  his 
older  brother  did.  If  the  term  is  too  short  for  the  proper  completion  of  the 
work  outlined,  he  adds  his  importunities  to  those  of  his  teacher  and  his 
county  superintendent,  with  the  result  that  the  next  annual  meeting  will 
probably  vote  a  longer  term.  Being  a  good  student,  and  accustomed  to 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting. 


11 


hard  lessons,  and  having  a  common-school  diploma  admitting  him  to  the  high 
schools  of  his  county,  he  will  probably  enter  some  higher  institution  of 
learning,  and  so  continue  his  studies  further.  Again,  for  the  child  of  the 
renter,  who  every  March  moves  from  place  to  place,  there  is  the  additional 
advantage  of  finding  other  classes  in  the  new  school  within  a  few  pages  of 
where  he  left  off  in  the  old  school.  Hence  it  is  clear  that  every  pupil  profits 
by  a  uniform  course  of  study. 

The  teacher  is  no  less  benefited  than  the  pupil.  She  has  a  definite  plan 
to  follow;  knows  just  what  to  do  and  how  to  do  it;  can  require  the  work  to 
be  done,  since  it  comes  from  a  higher  authority,  and  can  measure  her 
teaching  success,  to  a  degree  at  least,  by  that  of  other  teachers.  For  the 
beginning  teacher  it  provides  an  outlined  series  of  lessons  with  many  inval¬ 
uable  suggestions  from  a  committee  of  the  best  schoolmen  in  the  state, 
thereby  doubling  her  efficiency  as  a  teacher.  And  her  name  is  legion,  since 
nearly  one-third  of  the  teachers  each  year  are  beginners,  with  very  little  or 
no  professional  training.  I  may  here  say  that  a  course  of  study  prepared 
as  ours  is  and  representing  the  best  thought  and  experience  of  several  skil¬ 
ful  school  workers,  is  better  than  one  prepared  in  any  other  way.  No  one 
man  in  the  state  could  prepare  a  course  equally  good.  So  the  advantage  to 
the  teacher  is  apparent. 

However,  it  is  to  the  county  superintendent  that  a  uniform  course  of 
study  is  perhaps  of  the  greatest  benefit,  for  by  it  he  knows  what  every 
teacher  in  his  county  ought  to  be  doing.  From  the  reports  he  should  re¬ 
quire  her  to  make  him  at  the  close  of  each  month,  he  can  tell  at  a  glance 
how  far  the  various  classes  have  recited.  When  he  visits  her  school  he  can 
judge  of  the  character  of  her  work;  while  from  the  term  report,  made  at 
the  end  of  the  term,  he  can  tell  how  each  pupil  is  classified  as  well  as  what 
ground  he  has  covered  during  the  year.  He  has  then  somewhat  the  grasp 
the  city  superintendent  has  of  the  city  schools.  By  it  his  supervision  of  the 
schools  is  greatly  improved.  I  feel  sure  the  time  is  speedily  coming  when 
all  county  superintendents  will  require  their  teachers  to  follow  the  course 
of  study  closely. 

Now,  fellow  superintendents,  from  these  few  arguments  and  observa¬ 
tions  it  will  be  seen  that  to  my  mind  there  is  but  one  side  to  this  question, 
and  that  is,  that  a  common-school  course  of  study  is  a  necessity  which  no 
county  can  afford  to  neglect  to  adopt  and  to  follow  closely,  if  it  would  be 
progressive  and  true  to  the  ideals  of  our  state. 

Supt.  Geo.  T.  Codding  then  discussed  the  question,  “How  to 
Insure  its  Use,”  in  part,  as  follows : 

I  am  merely  going  to  talk  to  you  to-day  of  some  of  the  things  I  have 
tried  to  do  in  my  county  in  regard  to  our  Course  of  Study.  I  am  thoroughly 
convinced  of  its  need  and  that  it  should  be  used  everywhere. 

I  taught  a  certain  school  thirteen  years  ago,  and  a  year  or  two  ago  I 
taught  the  same  school  again,  and  I  found  there  conditions  existing  as  they 
were  when  I  taught  there  thirteen  years  before.  The  advancement  we  had 
been  making  in  other  schools  had  not  reached  this  school.  The  boys  and 
girls  were  using  various  kinds  of  books  that  had  been  used  by  their  fathers 
and  mothers  years  ago,  and  starting  again  next  year,  going  over  and  over 
again  the  ground  they  had  gone  over  before,  and,  while  I  was  pondering 
and  thinking  of  this,  the  thought  came  to  me  that  what  we  needed  was  a 


12 


Proceedings  of 


course  of  study.  It  was  then  that  I  decided  to  use  the  state  Course  of 
Study.  The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  tell  the  teachers  that  the  county  schools 
should  be  classified.  I  see  no  reason  why  a  seventh-grade  boy  should  not 
know  he  is  a  seventh-grade  boy  just  as  well  as  if  he  were  in  town. 

As  superintendent  I  insisted  upon  my  teachers  using  the  Course  of  Study. 
First  I  convinced  myself  that  it  should  be  done,  then  insisted  upon  its  being 
done.'  To  my  teachers  I  said :  “If  you  do  not  enforce  it  in  your  schools,  it 
is  a  failure  of  yours  and  not  of  mine;  but  if  you  use  it  and  it  is  a  failure, 
then  it  is  a  failure  of  mine  and  not  of  yours.” 

If  you  have  not  carefully  studied  this  course  it  is  not  possible  that  you 
will  be  able  to  direct  your  teachers  to  successful  effort  in  its  use.  I  sent 
monthly  questions  out  and  asked  my  teachers  to  send  back  to  me  the  manu¬ 
script  of  the  eighth-grade  arithmetic  questions.  I  told  the  teachers  that 
this  was  a  new  thing  to  me;  that  they  would  make  mistakes  and  that  I 
would  too.  I  required  that  the  teachers  keep  their  examination  papers  at 
the  schoolhouse  after  they  were  graded,  put  each  pupil’s  together,  and  file 
them  away  on  a  table  or  around  the  wall  so  that  parents  and  pupils  might 
see  what  the  children  have  done.  You  would  rather  lo  >k  at  your  children’s 
work,  no  matter  how  poor  the  work,  than  to  look  at  some  other  children’s 
work. 

The  parents  were  invited  to  come  and  see  the  results  of  our  examina¬ 
tions  and  were  much  pleased. 

We  had  two  or  three  teachers  in  our  county  that  did  not  like  the  Course 
of  Study.  They  were  good  teachers ;  teachers  that  had  taught  for  twelve 
or  fifteen  years,  but  they  had  gotten  into  a  rut,  and  were  slow  to  see  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  uniform  course  of  study.  Teachers  wrote  to 
me,  “Is  it  law?”  “Are  we  compelled  to  have  these  examinations?  ”  “Are 
we  compelled  to  use  this  Course  of  Study.”  But  I  wrote  back  to  them  that 
“the  State  Board  has  prepared  this  Course  of  Study  and  put  it  in  the 
schools,  and  that  to  make  this  Course  of  Study  successful  and  efficient  you 
must  use  the  questions  that  have  been  prepared  each  month;”  and  I  said  to 
my  teachers:  “If  you  cannot  use  the  questions  and  the  Course  of  Study 
and  follow  our  system  as  we  want  it  done,  then  we  cannot  use  you.”  And 
the  result  is  our  rural  schools  are  as  well  classified  as  are  the  village 
schools.  Oar  teachers  are  clamoring  to-day  and  watching  the  mails,  wonder¬ 
ing  if  they  are  to  receive  the  Course  of  Study  in  time  for  the  opening  of 
schools  Monday  morning.  We  use  the  Course  of  Study  and  would  not  be 
without  it. 

Oti  the  subject  of  “The  Program,  with  Emphasis  on  Alterna¬ 
tion,”  Supt.  A.  W.  Hamilton,  of  Hutchinson,  said,  in  part: 

I  shall  talk  to  you  very  briefly,  because  the  question  does  not  need  a  long 
talk,  but  it  is  of  great  importance  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  school  that  a 
good  program  be  arranged  for  the  conduct  of  the  recitations.  The  program 
must  be  arranged  with  one  purpose  in  view  only,  that  of  the  good  of  the 
whole  school,  not  particularly  for  any  one  boy  or  girl,  and  not  alone  for  the 
convenience  of  the  teacher,  except  as  that  convenience  may  help  to  do  good 
work  in  the  school. 

To  begin  with,  I  want  to  say  that  as  I  look  at  the  program  I  cannot  think 
of  it  at  all  except  as  I  think  of  the  Course  of  Study.  The  program  that 
does  not  take  into  consideration  the  work  the  school  is  doing,  and  is  going 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


13 


to  do  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  year,  is  not  a  proper  program. 
The  teacher  who  has  not  in  mind  an  outline  of  the  work  to  be  done  in  the 
school  during  the  school  year  will  not  succeed  in  making  a  proper  program, 
because  the  program  should  be  based  upon  the  Course  of  Study. 

It  is  a  pretty  hard  thing  to  say  how  many  recitations  daily  should  be  ar¬ 
ranged  for,  and  then  make  a  program  that  will  fit  each  and  every  school. 
No  program  will  necessarily  fit  any  two  schools.  The  village  schools  will 
have  very  little  difficulty  in  arranging  the  program  for  their  grades.  But 
our  program,  as  a  rule,  as  discussed  here  to  day,  must  have  reference  to  the 
one  to  be  used  in  the  country  school,  the  one- teacher  school.  We  who  have 
taught  in  the  country  schools  where  there  are  thirty,  forty  or  fifty  boys  and 
girls  know  that  here  is  found  the  trouble  in  arranging  a  program.  I  myself 
have  visited  certain  schools  where  there  were  from  thirty  to  thirty- six 
recitation  periods  per  day.  No  one  teacher  can  or  should  have  such  a 
task  on  her  hands.  When  we  have  more  than  an  average  of  seven  recita¬ 
tions  for  each  quarter  of  the  day  there  is  a  loss  of  efficiency.  The  reduction 
must  come  through  the  alternating  of  recitation  periods. 

We  find  in  our  country  schools  there  are  constantly  two  forces  clamoring 
for  the  teacher’s  attention.  One  is  the  whole  school  as  a  unit,  the  other  is 
the  individual.  I  think  very  often  we  find  the  teachers  forgetting  the  whole 
school  for  the  benefit  of  the  individual.  Sometimes  it  is  the  reverse.  The 
teacher  must  be  able  to  judge.  The  teacher  must  be  able  to  make  a  pro¬ 
gram  that  will  meet  ttfe  needs  of  her  particular  school.  The  work  that  is 
outlined  in  the  Course  of  Study  as  a  whole  must  be  used,  and  the  teacher 
must  adjust  the  program  to  the  whole  school,  and,  if  she  cannot  do  that,  then 
God  bless  the  boys  and  girls.  There  is  no  help  for  them. 

The  program,  then,  really  depends  upon  the  Course  of  Study.  We  go  into 
a  schoolroom  and  find  the  program.  How  shall  we  criticize  it?  Shall  it  be 
because  arithmetic  comes  in  a  certain  quarter  of  the  day,  or  reading  in  a 
certain  other  quarter?  In  my  humble  opinion  I  do  not  think  we  ought  to 
say  much  to  the  teacher  along  this  line.  Our  teachers  experiment  a  little 
and  then  find  out  that  pupils  do  better  work  in  certain  studies  in  certain 
quarters  of  the  day.  We  split  hairs  over  the  matter  of  subjects  being  put 
in  the  wrong  quarter  of  the  day,  whereas  the  real  loss  to  the  school  is  be¬ 
cause  of  other  features  in  making  up  the  program. 

Mr.  Hamilton  then  spoke  of  the  boys  and  girls  carrying  eight 
or  ten  subjects,  whereas  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  should  not  be 
allowed  to  carry  over  four,  or  at  the  most  five  major  subjects.  No 
teacher  should  sacrifice  the  interests  of  the  whole  school  by  allow¬ 
ing  a  few  pupils  to  take  many  subjects  to  the  detriment  of  the 
entire  school. 

Here  Courses  of  Study  were  given  out,  and  Mr.  Hamilton  ex¬ 
plained  the  program  as  given  in  the  Course,  and  how  alternation 
should  be  used  in  connection  with  the  program.  He  said : 

I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  no  boy  or  girl  should  be  required,  or 
allowed,  to  have  over  four  major  studies,  eliminating  penmanship,  to  study 
and  recite  per  day.  By  introducing  the  plan  of  alternation  in  the  school  the 
teacher  has  been  able  to  allow  the  boys  and  girls  to  take  five  studies  and 
have  but  four  recitations  a  day  in  the  major  subjects. 


14 


Proceedings  of 


The  teacher  must  take  the  general  program  as  found  in  the  Course  of 
Study  and  arrange  it  to  suit  her  school,  eliminating  a  class  here  or  a  class 
there,  and  substituting  others. 

Although  Superintendent  Weltner,  of  Kinsley,  was  not  present, 
he  sent  a  paper  opening  the  discussion  on  the  above  subject.  Mr. 
Weltner  said,  in  part: 

In  discussing  this  set  of  papers  I  shall  endeavor  to  touch  upon  the  sub¬ 
divisions  briefly. 

The  state  law  provides  for  the  teaching  of  certain  branches  of  study,  and 
for  such  other  branches  as  the  board  may  determine.  This  leaves  the  mat¬ 
ter  open  for  grave  criticism,  especially  when  it  is  apparent  to  any  one  that 
it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  10,000  school  boards  will  come  anywhere  near  a 
uniform  system,  even  if  a  goodly  number  of  them  attempt  to  prescribe  a 
course  of  study,  which  very  few  of  them  care  to  do.  It  is  a  reasonable 
proposition  that  a  well-defined  course  of  study  be  provided  for  our  common 
schools,  and  that  provision  be  made  by  statute  enabling  the  State  Board  to 
place  the  course  with  every  county  superintendent  and  require  its  use.  The 
legislature  of  1905  made  such  prjvision.  The  course  is  a  necessity,  in  order 
to  enable  the  teacher  to  accomplish  the  best  work  for  the  time  she  has  the 
pupils  in  her  charge.  Without  a  good  course  our  teachers  will  so  scatter 
tbeir  forces  as  to  fall  far  short  of  what  should  be  accomplished.  Then, 
again,  with  a  good  course,  well  followed  up,  the  pupils  are  able  to  know,  day 
by  day,  just  what  is  expected  of  them.  It  is  some  satisfaction  to  know,  too, 
that  the  neighboring  schools  are  seeking  to  cover  common  ground  in  the 
course.  The  completion  of  the  course  should  entitle  the  pupil  to  receive  a 
creditable  certificate  of  completion,  entitling  him  to  pursue  his  studies  further 
in  some  good  high  school. 

To  insure  the  use  of  the  course  is  a  more  difficult  proposition.  The  nor¬ 
mal  institute  is  the  place  where  a  few  periods  on  the  program  should  be 
devoted  to  showing  teachers  how  to  arrange  the  work  in  the  schoolroom  so 
as  to  secure  the  carrying  out  the  requirements  of  the  course.  Young  teach¬ 
ers,  especially,  will  have  a  hard  time  at  first  to  put  in  force  a  system  that  is 
quite,  or  altogether,  new  to  them.  The  insurance  of  its  use  will,  I  think, 
lie  largely  with  the  county  superintendent.  By  means  of  letters  of  instruc¬ 
tion  and  encouragement,  and  personal  explanation  to  the  teacher  when  vis¬ 
iting  the  school,  he  can  accomplish  much.  Teachers  have  long  since  come  to 
know  the  value  of  the  Course  of  Study  in  the  normal  institute.  They  must 
come  to  see  that  the  course  used  in  the  school  from  day  to  day  has  an  equal 
value.  Pupils  and  patrons  need  to  know  something  of  the  value  of  it  also, 
so  as  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  all  who  are  in  any  way  concerned  in  its  use. 

But,  fellow  superintendents,  one  of  the  most  difficult  things  in  the  way 
of  securing  the  use  of  the  course  is  the  short  term  in  so  many  districts. 
Where  the  teacher  has  only  a  five-  or  six-months  term  it  does  seem  a  diffi¬ 
cult  proposition.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  remains  for  the  state  to  go  a  step 
farther  and  enact  legislation  securing  state  aid  for  the  weaker  schools,  thus 
enabling  them  to  give  at  the  least  calculation  an  eight-months  term,  so  as 
to  enable  teachers  to  do  a  year’s  work  in  a  school  year  that  has  the  requi¬ 
site  amount  of  time. 

Referring  again  to  the  statement  that  the  county  superintendent  will  be 
the  main  factor  in  securing  its  use,  it  seems  to  me  that  there  will  be  com- 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting. 


15 


paratively  little  trouble  in  those  schools  under  close  supervision  of  a  princi¬ 
pal.  This  would  lead  to  the  thought  that  consolidation  is  a  key  to  the 
situation.  Wherever  three  or  four  schools  can  unite  and  the  supervisory 
influence  of  a  principal  is  secured  there  will  not  be  much  trouble  to  secure 
or  insure  the  use  of  the  course. 

The  average  country  school  has  trouble  with  the  program.  It  is  too 
often  the  case  that  the  program  is  loaded  down  with  a  multiplicity  of 
classes  that  is  appalling.  Something  must  be  done  to  show  our  teachers 
how  to  combine  those  in  classes  who  are  pursuing  the  same  subject  but 
somehow  do  not  seem  to  keep  together.  Then,  again,  among  those  pupils 
in  the  intermediate  and  advanced  grades  we  must  handle  fewer  subjects 
each  year,  seeking  to  alternate  one  or  two  studies  each  year,  or,  in  some 
cases,  alternating  certain  studies  on  certain  days  of  the  week;  as,  for  in¬ 
stance,  two  lessons  in  physiology  and  three  in  constitution  each  week  works 
very  well.  The  program  must  be  reduced  in  regard  to  number  of  daily 
recitations.  Twenty-five  to  thirty  or  more  recitations  each  day  is  a  mistake 
and  must  be  eradicated.  If  possible  the  number  should  be  brought  below 
twenty.  Here,  again,  comes  in  the  consolidation  of  schools  to  remedy  a 
most  grave  situation.  Consolidation,  grading  the  school  and  distributing 
the  work  to  three,  four  or  more  teachers  is  the  only  way,  it  does  seem  to 
me,  in  which  we  will  be  able  in  a  measure  to  overcome  the  difficulty.  For 
years  we  have  been  crowding  the  school  curriculum,  expanding  the  work, 
and  demanding  more  of  the  teacher,  and  still  we  have  the  same  old  one- 
teacher  district,  that  has  become,  long  ago,  entirely  unable  to  carry  the  load 
required.  Consolidation  is  the  remedy  for  many  of  our  present  school  ills. 

Superintendent  Boyer,  of  Kingman,  further  said:  “When  we 
consider  that  such  a  large  number  of  our  schools  have  but  six 
months,  very  few  five,  and  that  so  many  recitations  are  to  be  heard 
that  it  is  necessary  to  alternate,  and  that  those  studies  come  only 
four  times  a  week,  you  see  that  the  pupils  can  only  give  four-fifths 
of  the  six  months  to  each  of  those  subjects,  so  I  just  want  to  em¬ 
phasize  in  that  way  the  difficulties;  and  I  hope  and  trust  and  pray 
that  we  can  use  our  influence  on  the  representatives  of  our  county 
to  the  end  that  the  minimum  school  term  be  materially  lengthened. 
If  the  term  should  be  lengthened  to  eight  months,  the  problem 
would  be  solved.  Let  us  work  together  for  that  end,  that  the  length 
of  the  term  of  the  country  school  may  be  increased.1’ 

Superintendent  Berry,  of  Marysville,  said :  “I  would  like  to  add 
one  word  to  what  has  been  said  in  the  papers  and  that  Mr.  Boyer 
has  mentioned,  and  that  is  this:  that  while  we  ought  to  have  a 
minimum  length  of  term,  and  that  seven  months,  we  ought  to  have 
a  definite  date  for  the  schools  to  begin.  In  ray  county  we  begin 
most  of  the  schools  on  the  first  Monday  in  September ;  sixty  per 
cent,  at  least  begin  on  that  date  at  my  request.  We  have  not  ten 
schools  that  have  less  than  seven  months  of  school  each  year.” 

1  Superintendent  Blackburn,  of  Graham  county,  then  said:  “I 


16 


Proceedings  of 


believe  we  are  agreed  that  it  is  an  excellent  thing  to  have  a  mini¬ 
mum  term  of  seven  or  eight  months  of  school  and  begin  on  the 
same  day  if  possible,  but  we  have  to  meet  conditions,  and  all  are 
not  as  we  would  like  to  have  them.  Many  schools  are  only  five 
months  in  length,  but  in  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  districts  the 
suggestion  as  to  the  day  school  should  begin  was  followed  out. 
However,  so  long  as  so  many  of  our  districts  maintain  such  short 
terms,  we  will  find  that  at  the  closing  of  the  term  the  school  has 
not  completed  the  work  as  outlined  in  our  Course  of  Study  for  the 
school  year.  The  fifth  grade,  for  example,  has  perhaps  finished  the 
fourth  month,  the  sixth  grade  the  fifth  month,  and  so  on.”  (  Here 
he  explained  his  method  of  having  reports  made  out  so  that  the 
incoming  teacher  each  fall  will  know  what  work  each  pupil  has 
done  during  the  past  year,  and  where  to  place  that  pupil  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  new  school  term.)  “In  that  report  the  teacher  states 
just  what  month  of  wliat  year  the  class  has  completed,  and  in  that 
way  the  teacher  who  begins  next  fall  will  know  just  where  the  class 
should  take  up  the  work.  The  classification  register  that  I  am 
putting  in  this  year  has  a  place  for  the  same  thing,  but  the  point  I 
want  to  make  here  is  regarding  examination  questions  that  are  to 
be  furnished  by  the  state  for  the  first  time.  I  believe  those  ques¬ 
tions  should  all  be  in  the  hands  of  the  county  superintendent,  and 
in  most  cases  in  the  hands  of  the  district,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
school  year.  If  the  examination  questions  for  the  first  two  months 
only  are  handed  to  me  at  the  first  of  the  year,  there  will  be  two- 
thirds  of  the  schools  that  cannot  use  those  questions,  and  I  believe 
that  ail  of  the  questions  should  be  furnished  at  one  time,  and  that 
at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year.  Then  the  superintendents  can 
send  to  the  districts  the  questions  required  by  each  particular 
school.  Now,  there  may  be  objections  to  that,  but  I  know  that  we 
cannot  meet  conditions  in  Graham  county  without  having  those 
questions  for  the  full  course.” 

Mr.  Fairchild  replied  to  the  above  as  follows:  “While  the  sug¬ 
gestion  of  Superintendent  Blackburn  might  be  a  convincing  one  in 
some  instances,  it  would  seem  to  be  impracticable,  for  the  reason 
that  if  the  same  examination  questions  be  sent  out  to  different 
schools  in  the  same  county  at  different  times,  the  questions  them¬ 
selves  would  be  likely  to  be  known  to  pupils  long  before  the  test 
came.” 

Superintendent  Scott,  of  Osborne  county,  said:  “In  a  great 
many  cases  where  the  valuation  is  so  low  that  not  over  four  or  five 
months  of  school  can  be  maintained,  would  it  not  be  possible  to 


County  Superintendents ’  Meeting. 


17 


have  the  pupils  of  a  short-term  school  attend  first,  say,  their  own 
district,  and  then  complete  the  year’s  work  in  an  adjoining  district, 
thus  enabling  the  pupils  to  complete  each  year’s  work  as  laid  down 
in  the  Course  of  Study  ?” 

Superintendent  Grabbe,  of  Ellis  county,  then  stated:  “I  have 
tried  the  following  plan  and  have  found  it  quite  successful:  I  am 
principally  working  on  consolidation  of  school  districts,  and  usually 
succeed  in  getting  two  rooms  near,  no  matter  how  small  the  dis¬ 
tricts,  consequently  have  two  teachers.  One  teacher  commences 
school  the  first  Monday  in  September  and  teaches  seven  months.  I 
ask  the  second  teacher  to  commence  the  first  Monday  in  October^ 
and  when  the  children  have  finished  the  term  beginning  the  first 
Monday  in  September,  they  continue  in  the  school  under  the  sec¬ 
ond  teacher,  thus  giving  them  eight  months’  instruction  during  the 
year.” 

Superintendent  Codding,  of  Pottawatomie  county,  suggested 
that  any  plan  to  complete  the  Course  of  Study  in  a  periud  of  six 
months  was  wrong  in  principle. 

In  regard  to  the  examination  questions,  he  said:  “I  would  not 
send  them  all  out  at  once.  Let  the  county  superintendent  provide 
questions  for  such  schools  as  cannot  take  the  questions  prepared 
by  the  State  Board.  If  you  will  hold  to  this  idea,  and  not  let  your 
teachers  promote  on  six  months’  work,  patrons  will  insist  upon  a 
longer  term,  and  the  desired  result  will  be  accomplished.” 

Superintendent  Scott,  of  Osborne  county,  said:  “This  is  what  I 
expect  to  do  in  my  county  this  winter,  and  it  is  possible  that  quite 
a  number  of  other  superintendents  will  do  this.  I  expect  to  hold 
township  meetings,  one  or  more,  just  as  many  as  I  can  handle  in  each 
township^-a  meeting  for  teachers  and  school-district  boards  of  the 
township,  as  well  as  others  interested  in  educational  matters,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  subjects  we  shall  begin  upon:  ‘The  lengthening 
of  the  school  term.’  The  short  term  is  not  always  in  the  district 
of  low  valuation.” 

Superintendent  Colville,  of  Sedgwick  county,  suggested  that 
“the  question  of  short  terms  is  pressing  for  a  solution.  How  to 
get  the  boy  through  in  a  five-  or  six-months  term,  when  the  work 
is  laid  out  for  an  eight-months  term,  is  difficult  of  solution.  We 
ought  not  to  try  to  do  as  much  in  a  short  term  as  the  longer  term 
calls  for.  The  sort  of  alternation  that  I  like  is  the  taking  of  a  sub¬ 
ject  for  four  months  and  completing  it,  then  take  another  subject 
for  four  months  and  complete  that,  instead  of  alternating  by  days.” 

Superintendent  Jennie  Davy,  Harper  county,  said:  “The  teache 
-2 


18 


Proceedings  of 


dare  not  teach  faster  than  the  child  can  learn,  and  cannot  complete 
eight  months’  work  in  six.” 

Then  followed  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Kirby,  who  said  that  all  districts 
in  her  county  have  seven-  or  eight-months  terms. 

Superintendent - said  that  he  thought  questions  sent  out 

by  the  Board  should  not  be  regarded  lightly,  and  that  the  same  pre¬ 
cautions  should  be  taken  as  in  teachers’  examinations,  and  teachers 
must  be  impressed  with  the  fact  that  they  are  to  be  used  as  tests, 
and  not  as  review  questions. 

At  this  time  Superintendent  Edgecomb  arose  and  moved  that 
the  chair  appoint  a  committee  to  prepare  a  program  for  the  county 
superintendents’  section  during  the  meeting  of  the  state  associa¬ 
tion,  and  that  the  state  superintendent  be  chairman  of  that  com¬ 
mittee.  Mr.  Mull  seconded  the  motion,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the 
committee  should  consist  of  five  members.  Motion  prevailed. 

Mr.  Stanley  moved  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  on 
resolutions.  Seconded  by  Mr.  Hamilton,  and  motion  prevailed. 

Moved  by  Mr.  Codding,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Edgecomb,  that 
an  examination  committee  be  appointed.  Motion  prevailed. 

It  was  moved  by  Mr.  Mull  that  the  meetings  be  opened  at  2:00 
p  m  ,  8:00  p.  M.,  and  8:00  A.  M.  Thursday.  The  motion  was  amended 
to  read  7:30  Thursday  morning,  and  after  a  lively  discussion  the 
amended  motion  carried. 

Superintendent  Codding  then  asked,  “What  is  the  county  super¬ 
intendent  to  do  with  the  flag  law,  and  what  is  the  state  superin¬ 
tendent  going  to  do  with  the  flag  law?” 

Mr.  Fairchild  replied:  “While  there  is  considerable  criticism 
relative  to  this  law,  especially  as  to  that  part  that  requires  a  daily 
program,  I  shall  prepare,  as  early  as  possible,  a  suitable  program 
and  send  out  to  the  teachers.  I  am  very  much  in  favor  of  certain 
days  being  set  apart  in  which  to  emphasize  patriotism.” 

August  28 — 2  p.  m. 

The  first  number  on  the  program,  “Our  System  of  County  Grad¬ 
uation,  its  Needs  and  Defects,”  was  discussed  by  Superintendent 
Berry,  of  Marysville,  who  said  he  would  discuss  the  time  of  holding 
the  examinations,  and  the  places  for  holding  the  examinations  and 
the  questions  to  be  used,  and  the  material  also  for  the  examina¬ 
tions  and  who  shall  be  permitted  to  take  the  examination,  who  are 
to  conduct  the  examinations,  how  they  are  to  be  conducted,  the 
manuscript  examiners,  and  compensation  for  the  examiners  and 
conductors  of  the  examinations,  the  standard  that  is  to  be  required, 


County  Superintendents ’  Meeting.  19 

the  graduation  exercises,  the  issuing  of  diplomas,  and  the  alumni 
association. 

The  time  of  holding  the  examination,  it  seems  to  me,  ought  to  be  differ¬ 
ent  from  what  it  has  been  in  the  past.  I  have  found  some  objections  to  the 
plans  that  have  been  followed  heretofore.  We  have  had  two  examinations 
each  year.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  need  to  have  these  examinations  com¬ 
ing,  the  first  at  the  close  of  the  eight-months  term  of  the  schools  beginning 
the  first  Monday  in  September,  the  second  examination  coming  a  month 
later. 

Now,  as  to  the  date  upon  which  these  examinations  shall  be  held:  They 
have  been  held,  the  first  one  on  Friday  and  Saturday,  and  the  second  one 
on  Saturday,  and  I  am  opposed  to  the  plan  of  holding  the  examinations  on 
Saturday.  The  teachers  have  enough  work,  outside  of  these  diploma  exami¬ 
nations,  to  do  in  the  week  without  giving  up  an  extra  day.  There  is  no 
compensation  for  it,  and  I  believe  it  would  give  greater  force  to  the  scheme 
if  we  would  recognize  that  it  was  important  enough  in  the  program  to  have 
a  day  of  the  regular  work,  on  Thursday  and  Friday. 

The  places  for  holding  these  examinations:  That  is  an  important  point  to 
be  considered.  In  our  county  we  have  had  these  county  diploma  examina¬ 
tions  at  the  villages,  or  in  some  of  the  districts  where  there  would  be  six  or 
more  pupils  to  be  accommodated. 

Some  one  to  conduct  the  examinations:  That  can  be  done  by  the  teacher 
of  the  school,  but  no  teacher  should  be  left  entirely  alone  to  conduct  these 
examinations;  and  if  they  see  fit,  call  in  a  third  person  to  assist  in  holding 
the  examination. 

The  questions:  I  do  not  care  to  say  anything  concerning  them.  We  are 
satisfied  they  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  examining  committee  in  am¬ 
ple  time,  and  regulations  in  regard  to  the  examination  must  be  followed 
out  as  given  by  the  county  superintendent. 

Material  for  holding  the  examination  will  be  furnished  by  the  county 
commissioners  through  the  county  superintendent. 

Who  shall  be  permitted  to  take  the  examination:  I  have  encouraged  pu¬ 
pils  in  the  seventh  grade  to  take  part  of  the  examination.  Some  of  these 
subjects  are  to  be  finished  in  the  seventh  grade,  and  I  can  see  no  objections 
to  having  pupils  of  the  seventh  grade  take  the  examination,  carrying  the 
grades  that  are  eighty  or  above.  Some  have  objected  to  that  and  do  not 
encourage  pupils  of  the  seventh  grade  to  take  the  examination. 

For  the  examination  :  I  believe  that  we  ought  to  charge  a  fee  for  these 
examinations,  and  I  will  tell  you  in  a  moment  why.  I  understand  that  in 
some  places  they  object  to  that,  but  it  seems  to  me  if  a  fee  is  charged  it 
will  keep  out  of  the  examination  some  adventurers  that  have  a  hope  they 
might  possibly  get  through,  and  if  they  can  take  the  examination  without 
any  expense  connected  with  it  a  great  many  would  simply  try  to  see  what 
they  could  do.  Things  have  gotten  so  out  in  our  county  that  the  reading  of 
the  manuscripts  has  grown  to  be  a  very  big  job,  and  the  charging  of  a  fee 
would  keep  out  some  adventurers  and  lessen  the  work  of  the  committee  on 
manuscripts. 

The  question  of  manuscript  examiners  is  a  very  important  point  to  be 
considered.  In  our  county  we  are  so  fortunately  situated  that  we  have  a 
number  of  men  at  the  head  of  the  village  schools  of  recognized  ability,  of 


20 


Proceedings  of 


long  term  of  service,  professional  men;  in  fact  we  have  nine  schools  in  the 
county  that  do  the  work  of  preparing  for  the  University,  and  it  has  been 
the  plan  the  past  year  to  appoint  the  heads  of  these  schools  as  the  examiners 
in  this  examination,  thus  taking  the  examinations  out  of  the  hands  of  the 
teachers  who  have  charge  of  the  pupils.  These  men  have  no  direct  connec¬ 
tion  with  any  of  these  pupils— do  not  know  them,  unless  perhaps  some  boy  or 
girl  is  known  to  them  in  a  friendly  way.  Each  man  is  given  one  subject  to 
grade;  that  lessens  the  amount  of  work  each  has,  and  it  has  been  so  that 
we  could  get  the  returns  in  a  short  time.  Where  we  have  a  second  exam¬ 
ination  coming  a  few  weeks  later  than  the  first  it  is  necessary  to  get  re¬ 
turns  early. 

In  our  county  312  took  the  first  examination,  218  the  second.  Some  tak¬ 
ing  the  second  examination  were  applicants  in  the  first  also.  In  grading 
the  manuscripts  of  the  diploma  people  we  ought  to  be  as  careful  as  we  are 
in  grading  teachers’  manuscripts.  The  manuscripts  are  sent  to  the  county 
superintendent’s  office,  and  he  sorts  them  and  sends  to  the  various  examin¬ 
ers  the  subject  that  has  been  arranged  for  that  person  to  grade.  The  latter 
grades  the  manuscripts,  makes  a  list  of  the  grades,  and  returns  the  list  and 
manuscripts  to  the  county  superintendent’s  office,  who  compiles  the  whole 
list,  etc.,  and  the  grades  determine  who  has  passed  and  who  has  not.  It  has 
been  the  custom  in  Marshall  county  to  pay  the  examiners  out  of  the  fees 
collected.  We  have  charged  a  fee  of  twenty-five  cents.  We  understand 
that  in  some  counties  they  pay  a  fee  of  fifty  cents.  If-  it  is  necessary  that 
the  examinations  be  held  on  Saturday,  I  believe  we  ought  to  charge  a  suffi¬ 
cient  fee  to  cover  the  expenses  and  pay  the  conductors  of  the.  examination. 
Of  course,  if  the  examination  is  held  on  Thursday  and  Friday  as  a  part  of 
the  regular  week’s  work,  the  teachers  are  already  paid  for  their  work  and 
time,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to  give  them  additional  compensation. 

The  standard  to  be  attained;  the  standard  that  the  pupils  shall  make: 
It-has  been  the  plan  to  require  an  average  of  eighty  per  cent.  No  pupil 
should  fall  below  sixty  per  cent,  in  any  one  branch.  We  have  followed  that 
plan,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  requiring  an  average  of  eighty  per  cent,  is 
just  a  little  bit  high,  as  the  average  required  for  third-grade  teachers’  cer¬ 
tificates  is  but  seventy-five  per  cent. 

The  graduating  exercises:  There  have  been  various  plans  used  in  our 
county,  but  the  one  that  seems  to  me  to  suit  the  occasion  best  is. to  have 
general  graduating  exercises— a  time  when  the  graduates  all  come  together. 
The  past  year  we  tried  the  experiment  of  holding  these  graduating  exercises 
in  the  afternoon  of  a  day  during  the  institute.  The  teachers  of  these  pupils 
were  in  the  institute  and  were  naturally  interested  in  having  their  graduates 
appear,  and  in  many  cases  went  to  the  trouble  of  writing  them  and  securing 
places  for  them  to  stay,  assuring  them  they  would  be  taken  care  of. 

The  audience  was  a  representative  country  audience,  coming  from  all 
parts  of  the  county,  and  there  were  friends  of  these  graduates  from  all 
parts  of  the  county.  Altogether  530  took  the  examination;  result,  140 
graduates.  So  I  say  that  we  had  a  representative  body  of  the  patrons 
of  the  schools  at  the  commencement  exercises;  and  to  make  it  more  inter¬ 
esting,  and  to  add  something  to  it,  we  had  some  members  of  the  graduating 
class  to  appear  on  the  program;  we  had  the  one  who  received  the  highest 
grades  as  valedictorian,  and  a  salutatorian,  and  two  other  addresses  from 
the  class,  and  State  Superintendent  Fairchild  addressed  them.  Following 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


21 


the  afternoon  commencement  exercises,  we  organized  a  county  alumni  asso¬ 
ciation,  and  we  had  a  banquet,  a  program,  toasts  participated  in  by  various 
members  of  the  present  class.  In  the  greater  part  of  the  county  they  talk 
of  nothing  now  excepting  to  finish  the  course. 

Mr.  Stanley  then  asked  Mr.  Berry  to  state  about  what  per  cent, 
of  those  graduating  would  take  up  higher  work. 

Superintendent  Berry  replied:  “While  I  cannot  give  you  the 
exact  per  cent.,  the  per  cent,  is  very  high  because  the  village 
schools  have  been  requiring  a  common-school  diploma  in  order  to 
enter  the  high  school.” 

Superintendent  Wells,  Russell  county,  said:  “The  examinations 
are  held  about  the  same  in  Russell  county,  with  the  exception  that 
we  had  171  .applicants  who  took  the  diploma  examinations,  and  32 
out  of  that  number  passed.  Five  of  them  started  into  school  at 
Hays  as  soon  as  they  got  their  diplomas.  A  number  will  attend 
the  Russell  high  school  this  fall.” 

Chancellor  Strong  said:  “I  do  not  know  that  it  is  in  order  for 
me  to  say  anything.  I  am  not  a  county  superintendent,  of  course, 
but  I  was  a  superintendent  once,  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago,  and  I 
had  an  experience  along  the  line  of  graduations,  although  it  was 
riot  graduation  from  country  schools,  but  graduation  from  the  eighth 
grade  of  the  city  schools.  The  same  question  came  up  there,  of 
course,  whether  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to  follow  the  lead  of  the 
colleges  in  graduating  exercises,  or  whether  it  does  not  tend  to  lead 
the  student  to  think  that  he  has  had  all  that  is  worth  while.  I  think 
it  depends  very  largely,  indeed,  upon  the  superintendent  himself. 
If  he  has  the  stuff  in  him  he  will  see  to  it  that  no  student  who 
graduates  will  think  that  this  is  or  ought  to  be  the  end  of  school 
life.  Students  of  that  age  have  never  found  themselves,  and  it  is 
not  until  they  get  into  the  high  school  or  through  college  that 
boys  and  girls  really  find  themselves,  and  understand  their  relation 
to  the  great  scheme  of  life.  I  believe  that  these  graduating  exer¬ 
cises,  banquets,  etc.,  are  a  good  thing.  Anything  in  the  world 
that  tends  to  keep  the  boys  and  girls  in  school  to  the  end  of  the 
course  of  study  is  valuable,  and  the  chances  are  100  to  1  in  favor 
of  their  going  on  if  they  fully  complete  some  course;  therefore,  I  be¬ 
lieve  these  devices  to  be  most  excellent.  I  think  it  would  be  an 
excellent  thing  indeed  if  we  had  diploma  examinations,  graduation 
exercises,  banquets  and  alumni  associations  of  the  common-school 
graduates  all  over  the  state.” 

Superintendent  Edgecomb,  McPherson  county,  said:  “I  was 
just  wanting  an  expression  of  opinion  here  in  regard  to  seventh- 
grade  pupils  taking  this  examination.  I  think  it  is  a  very  bad 


22 


Proceedings  of 


thing  for  the  pupils  to  take  the  examination  before  the  eighth 
grade.  It  seems  to  me  the  better  plan  is  to  hold  the  diploma  ex¬ 
amination  in  several  different  places,  eight  or  nine  in  each  county.” 

Superintendent  Allen,  Jackson  county,  said:  “I  am  very  much 
interested  in  this  subject  of  diploma  examinations.  I  notice  from 
the  records  that  in  Jackson  county  twenty  classes  have  graduated, 
the  first  class  in  1883.  This  year  there  were  114  graduates,  the  first 
year,  7  graduates.  We  think  it  is  one  of  the  best  things  we  have 
in  connection  with  the  common-school  system.  I  have  thought 
this,  however,  that  no  teacher  whose  pupils  are  taking  the  examina¬ 
tion  at  a  given  point  should  conduct  the  examination.  The  charge 
of  favoritism  might  be  made.  I  believe  the  questions  should  be 
prepared  by  the  same  committee  that  prepares  the  questions  for 
the  monthly  examinations  from  the  state  Course  of  Study.  The 
same  persons  ought  to  prepare  the  questions  and  the  teachers  ought 
to  know  that  the  work  is  going  to  be  based  on  the  Course  of  Study. 
We  require  that  the  pupils  have  the  teacher’s  permission  to  take 
the  examination.  Having  completed  the  eighth-grade  work,  they 
are  admitted  to  the  examination,  if  thought  best  by  the  teacher, 
and  this  plan  of  holding  grades  of  eighty  per  cent,  or  over  for  one 
year  has  held  many  pupils  until  they  had  finished  the  course  and 
passed  the  examination,  completing  the  ninth-grade  work.  It 
seems  to  me  best  to  hold  the  graduating  exercises  in  various  locali¬ 
ties  over  the  county,  rather  than  in  any  one  place.  Large  crowds 
gather  for  the  exercises.  Another  thing,  we  have  required  every 
graduate  to  appear  on  the  program  in  some  way.  During  the  past 
school  year,  out  of  250  applicants  114  passed  the  examination  and 
graduated.” 

Supt.  Mrs.  Belle  Houston,  Cloud  county,  said:  “If  the  exami¬ 
nation  is  not  held  until  near  the  close  of  school,  it  is  quite  awhile 
before  the  pupils  know  who  has  passed  and  who  has  not.  Again, 
some  teachers  have  finished  their  schools  and  have  gone  home. 
Who  is  going  to  take  charge  of  these  exercises  in  such  cases? 
Some  years  the  examinations  came  so  late  that  many  of  the  schools 
of  the  country  were  out  before  we  knew,  and  the  teachers  had  left. 
So,  for  the  last  two  years,  we  have  had  our  graduating  exercises  at 
the  county-seat.  If  the  examinations  are  held  Thursday  and  Fri¬ 
day,  where  will  they  be  held;  where  can  room  be  secured  when 
schools  are  in  session  ?  That  seems  to  be  a  pretty  big  question. 
Suppose  the  boards  did  not  want  to  dismiss  in  some  of  the  schools  ? 
The  boards  would  be  slow  to  see  the  necessity  of  dismissing  school 
in  the  various  districts  in  order  to  hold  the  examination.” 

Miss  Collister  said:  “Lower-grade  work  should  be  so  thoroughly 


County  Superintendents*  Meeting. 


23 


done  that  when  pupils  come  to  the  eighth  and  ninth  grades  they 
will  pass  the  county  diploma  examinations  with  a  much  larger  per 
cent,  than  at  present.” 

Superintendent  Fairchild  stated  that:  “No  city  school  would 
dream  of  having  fifty  per  cent,  of  its  pupils  fail  in  examination 
work,  and  we  may  well  look  upon  this  as  a  strong  argument  for 
better  things  in  the  country  schools;  but  I  would  rather  see  ninety- 
five  per  cent,  fail  than  to  feel  that  by  any  chance  the  children  were 
allowed  to  think  that  they  did  not  have  to  have  scholarship  in  order 
to  secure  a  diploma.” 

Superintendent  Poland,  Nemaha  county,  asked  Professor  John¬ 
son,  high-school  visitor,  Lawrence,  as  to  whether  he  thought  a  boy 
of  eleven  or  twelve  years  of  age  would  be  able  to  take  up  high- 
school  work.  Mr.  Johnson  answered  that,  as  a  rule,  he  would  not, 
although  there  might  be  exceptions;  that  no  boy  or  gJrl  of  eleven 
or  twelve  years  of  age  should  be  admitted  to  high-school  work  un¬ 
less  for  exceptional  reasons. 

On  the  subject  of  “The  Barnes  Law,”  As3t.  State  Supt.  C.  C. 
Starr  said,  in  part : 

I  do  not  believe  that  a  law  has  been  enacted  for  years  that  is  capable  of 
greater  latitude  in  interpreting  portions  of  it  than  this  law.  The  Barnes 
law  means  free  high-school  education  to  the  boys  and  the  girls  living  out¬ 
side  of  school  districts  maintaining  high  schools.  It  means  equal  high-school 
privileges  to  the  farmer’s  boy  and  girl  and  the  boy  and  girl  living  in  town. 
It  means  equal  high-school  privileges  for  rich  and  poor  alike. 

Twenty-two  counties  in  the  state  had  already  established  county  high 
schools  before  the  passage  of  the  Barnes  law.  Forty-three  counties  have 
adopted  the  Barnes  law,  with  the  result  that  now  sixty- five  counties  offer 
free  high-school  education,  and  in  those  counties  the  public  schools  are  free, 
as  they  should  be,  from  the  primary  grades  up  to  the  University. 

Educators  and  other  friends  of  the  law  should  realize  that  it  is  a  matter 
of  prime  importance  to  the  educational  interests  of  the  state  for  the  Barnes 
law  to  be  made  popular  so  that  it  may  become  firmly  fixed  as  a  part  of  the 
school  system  of  the  state,  and  so  that  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  attempt 
to  amend  the  law,  when  desirable,  without  endangering  the  law  itself. 

Through  the  kindness  of  the  superintendents  of  the  counties  in  which  the 
Barnes  law  has  been  adopted,  I  have  been  able  to  learn  many  things  con¬ 
cerning  the  status  of  the  law  in  those  counties.  Out  of  twenty-eight  coun¬ 
ties  reporting,  the  levy  was  made  by  the  county  commissioners  in  all  but 
three  counties.  The  levies  made  in  those  counties  range  from  one-fourth  of 
a  mill  to  three  mills,  the  maximum.  The  prevailing  levies  are  from  one 
and  one-half  to  two  mills.  In  but  one  county  did  the  levy  reach  three  mills, 
and  that  was  Rice  county.  One-fourth  of  a  mill  was  levied  in  but  two 
counties,  and  I  suspect  that  in  those  counties  the  provisions  of  the  law  were 
misinterpreted.  It  will  be  recalled  that  the  law  was  amended  so  that  the 
maximum  levy  is  to  be  three  mills,  but  that  the  levy  is  to  be  sufficient  to 
maintain  those  high  schools ;  but  in  amending  the  law  the  legislature,  through 


24 


Proceedings  of 


an  oversight,  doubtless,  failed  to  formally  amend  the  section  in  which  a  levy 
of  one- fourth  of  a  mill  to  three  miils  is  provided.  That  section  is,  in  fact, 
amended,  however,  although  it  still  remains  in  its  original  form  in  the  stat¬ 
utes.  The  amendment,  being  a  later  enactment,  is  the  law  to  be  followed 
where  it  conflicts  with  the  original  section. 

Although  the  number  of  inquiries  in  the  reports  mentioned  and  the  num¬ 
ber  of  things  requested  to  be  explained  concerning  the  law  are  rather  large, 
I  shall  consider  also  some  phases  about  which  inquiries  were  not  made. 

Some  doubt  existed  for  awhile  as  to  what  vote  was  necessary  in  order  to 
adopt  the  law  in  any  county.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  attorney-general,  and 
of  the  weight  of  legal  advice  upon  the  subject,  that  a  majority  vote  on  that 
law  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  adopt  it  in  any  county. 

Where  the  law  was  not  submitted  to  the  voters  at  the  last  election,  as 
provided  by  the  law,  the  question  arises,  Should  the  law  be  submitted  at  the 
next  election?  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  attorney-general  that  the  law  in  those 
counties  should  be  submitted  at  the  next  general  election.  It  is,  moreover, 
just  as  mandatory  that  the  law  be  submitted  in  those  counties  at  the  next 
election  as  it  was  mandatory  for  it  to  be  submitted  at  the  last  election. 

It  is  not  advisable  for  cities  to  contend  too  zealously  for  a  very  large  tax 
levy  at  the  time  the  law  goes  into  effect,  but  it  is  very  important  that  the 
Barnes  high  schools  endeavor  to  become  popular  with  the  patrons  of  those 
schools,  and  to  make  the  benefits  of  those  schools  felt  more  and  more.  When 
that  is  accomplished,  the  matter  of  securing  a  sufficient  levy  will  largely  take 
care  of  itself.  It  is  not  necessary  for  city  boards  of  education  to  cut  off 
entirely  their  levy  for  the  Barnes  high  schools.  They  have  the  same  right 
now  that  they  ever  had  to  make  the  levy  from  their  own  funds  for  those 
high  schools.  The  additional  levies  might  well  be  used  for  providing  equip¬ 
ment  for  manual  training,  for  providing  laboratory  equipment,  and  for  other 
needful  purposes. 

Unfortunately,  the  expressions  used  in  reference  to  the  same  things  in 
the  law  do  not  harmonize  readily.  The  first  portion  of  the  law  uses  the 
term  “admitting  to  the  freshman  class,”  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  law 
the  expression  is  used  “shall  fully  prepare  to  enter  the  freshman  class.” 
One  portion  of  the  law  provides  that  the  county  treasurer  apportion  the 
funds  according  to  the  average  daily  attendance  of  resident  pupils ,  and 
another  portion  requires  the  county  superintendent  to  report  to  the  county 
treasurer  the  average  daily  attendance  in  the  several  high  schools  of  the 
county.  The  law  does  not  seem  to  have  recognized  the  existence  of  joint 
districts. 

With  regard  to  preparation  for  the  University,  the  position  taken  by 
the  University  of  Kansas  is  that  the  schools  that  are  on  the  accredited  list, 
but  that  are  not  fully  preparing  for  the  freshman  department,  comply  with 
the  provisions  of  the  law,  but  that  next  year  the  requirement  that  the  high 
schools  shall  “fully  prepare”  to  enter  the  freshman  class  will  be  the  stand¬ 
ard.  The  Kansas  University  undoubtedly  has  the  right  to  fix  the  standard 
as  to  preparation  for  the  University,  and  Barnes  high  schools  must  be  such 
that  they  meet  that  standard. 

The  high  schools  that  have  less  than  nine  months  of  school  per  year  will 
not  be  accredited  by  Kansas  University  after  this  year,  I  am  advised. 

Another  question  is  as  to  the  time  of  accrediting  the  high  schools.  The 
law  does  not  provide  that  a  year  shall  elapse  after  the  high  school  shall  have 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


25 


been  accredited  in  order  that  it  may  be  eligible  to  receive  county  aid,  but  it 
provides  that  those  schools  must  have  been  maintained  for  onie  year  up  tp 
that  standard  in  order  to  be  eligible  to  receive  county  aid,  and  the  accredit¬ 
ing  may  be  at  the  end  of  the  year. 

When  the  county  superintendent  makes  his  recommendation  ias  tb  the 
amount  required  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Barnes  high  schools  it  is  evident 
that  he  must  exercise  his  judgment  as  to  what  schools  are  complying  with 
the  law,  but  his  duty  in  that  respect  is  largely  perfunctory;  yet,  undoubtedly 
the  judgment  of  the  county  superintendent  upon  that  question  will  largely  be 
the  one  that  will  prevail,  and  unless  his  judgment  is  challenged  it  will  pre¬ 
vail. 

It  is  possible  that  some  high  schools  may  prepare  four-year  courses  of 
study  and  claim  that  thereby  they  have  complied  with  the  Barnes  high- 
school  law,  and  demand  their  share  of  the  county  funds.  Kansas  University 
will  take  care  of  that  matter;  for  a  high  school  must  have  been  maintained 
that  meets  the  standard  required  by  Kansas  University  for  admission,  and 
the  high  school  with  but  a  paper  course  would  not  come  up  to  that  standard. 
In  addition  to  the  college  preparatory  course  a  general  course  should  be 
provided,  and  the  standard  as  to  what  a  general  course  should  be  is  probably 
the  average  general  high- school  course,  which  is  well  understood.  As  the 
“general  course  is  intended  for  those  who  do  not  intend  to  continue  school 
work  beyond  the  high  school/’  the  subjects  of  the  general  course  should  be 
selected  to  meet  those  conditions. 

In  our  smaller  towns  and  cities  the  boys  and  girls  are  in  the  midst  of  an 
agricultural  community,  and  it  is  possible  and  probable  that  the  boys  who 
live  in  town  will  ultimately  have  something  to  do  with  the  farm  and  farm 
life.  Moreover,  the  Barnes  high  schools  are  supported  in  part  by  farmers, 
and  for  that  reason  those  high  schools  should  be  designed  for  the  farmer’s 
boy  and  girl  as  well  as  for  the  town  boy  and  girl.  While  business  courses 
long  since  have  been  provided  as  leading  toward  the  industry  of  the  city,  for 
the  same  reason  agriculture  should  be  provided  as  preparing  for  the  industry 
to  be  followed  by  pupils  coming  from  the  farm.  It  is  generally  conceded  that 
manual  training  is  specially  adapted  to  the  general  course,  and,  in  fact,  to 
all  courses,  and  as  soon  as  possible  the  Barnes  high  schools  should  become 
equipped  to  offer  work  in  manual  training.  To  start  with,  woodwork  should 
be  offered  for  the  boys  and  sewing  for  the  girls. 

The  question  has  been  raised  as  to  whether  pedagogy,  to  prepare  the 
boys  and  girls  for  teaching,  should  not  be  added.  But  a  small  percentage 
of  those  who  attend  high  school  are  aiming  to  teach,  and  to  add  such  course 
would  overburden  the  small  high  schools.  The  larger  high  schools,  that 
employ  a  large  number  of  teachers  and  have  facilities  to  offer  many  elective 
courses,  might  well  offer  a  course  in  pedagogy. 

It  might  be  better  for  the  smaller  high  schools,  that  cannot  meet  the  re¬ 
quirements  of  the  Barnes  high-school  law,  to  do  but  two  years  of  high-school 
work  and  then  transport  their  pupils  to  the  Barnes  high  schools,  which  will 
be  free  to  them,  and  which  will  offer  them  much  better  advantages  than 
they  could  find  in  their  home  high  schools.  It  may  be  urged  that  the  very 
small  high  schools  should  have  a  portion  of  the  county  high- school  fund. 
The  object  of  the  Barnes  law  has  not  been  so  much  to  maintain  a  very  large 
number  of  high  schools,  but  it  has  been  rather  to  maintain  a  limited  num- 


26 


Proceedings  of 


ber  located  conveniently  in  the  counties,  and  of  a  very  high  standard,  so 
that  they  may  compare  favorably  with  the  county  high  schools. 

The  levy  made  for  the  high  schools  under  the  Barnes  law  should  not  be 
applied  for  building  purposes,  but  should  be  applied  to  the  payment  of  the 
salary  of  teachers  and  janitor,  for  fuel,  water,  apparatus,  library,  and  gen¬ 
eral  supplies. 

Discussion  was  then  opened  by  Superintendent  Boyer,  Kingman 
county,  as  follows: 

It  is  with  a  degree  of  reluctance  that  I  enter  upon  the  discussion  of  this 
subject,  which  has  been  so  ably  handled  by  Mr.  Starr.  I  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  to  my  mind  the  most  important  defect  in  the  Barnes  high- 
school  law  is  the  minimum  levy  of  one-fourth  mill.  In  some  counties  where 
the  law  has  been  passed  it  was  rendered  useless  by  the  indifference  of  the 
county  commissioners,  who  would  defeat  the  purpose  of  the  law  by  levying 
the  minimum. 

I  sincerely  think  we  ought  to  be  congratulated  upon  the  passage  of  the 
amendment  to  the  Barnes  law  passed  by  the  last  legislature.  At  the  pas¬ 
sage  of  the  Barnes  high-school  law  in  our  county  there  was  but  one  high 
school  of  any  importance  doing  any  great  amount  of  high-school  work ;  that 
is  the  high  school  of  the  city  of  Kingman,  which  is  doing  very  satisfactory 
high-school  work,  indeed.  Its  condition,  however,  is  going  to  be  materially 
improved,  from  the  fact  that  instead  of  three  teachers  to  do  the  work  of  the 
Kingman  high  school,  as  in  the  past,  we  now  have  five  teachers.  They  have 
raised  the  wages  of  all  the  high-school  teachers.  We  have  $500  for  labora¬ 
tory,  $500  for  a  library,  and  $6000  for  teachers’  wages  and  other  expenses. 
We  made  a  levy  of  two  mills  and  the  high  school  of  Kingman  gets  the  full 
benefit  of  this  levy. 

The  people  of  Norwich  could  easily  come  under  the  law.  and  I  thought  it 
would  be  a  fine  idea  if  we  could  get  another  high  school  in  Kingman  county. 
They  will  come  under  the  Barnes  law  next  year.  They  have  built  two  rooms 
to  their  building,  fitted  things  up  in  fine  shape,  and  employ  two  instructors 
in  high-school  work,  giving  all  their  time.  They  have  been  having  two  years 
of  high-school  work;  next  year  they  will  have  three  years  work. 

A  very  small  per  cent,  of  the  graduates  were  attending  schools  of  higher 
learning  before  the  passage  of  this  law.  Since  the  passage  of  the  law,  in 
order  to  educate  along  this  line,  I  have  sought  to  impress  upon  the  teachers 
the  importance  of  talking  to  those  who  were  about  to  take  the  common- 
school  examination,  urging  them  to  go  to  the  high  school,  and  the  higher 
schools  of  learning  later.  One  question  I  asked  on  the  application  blank 
was,  “Do  you  intend  to  go  to  the  county  high  school  next  year  if  you  pass 
this  examination?”  Second,  “What  other  plans  have  you  for  further 
education?  ” 

The  past  year  the  enrolment  in  the  Kingman  high  school  was  100.  I 
estimate  that  this  year  the  enrolment  in  the  Kingman  high  school  will  be 
160.  Last  January  $25,000  in  bonds  were  voted  by  the  county  of  Kingman 
to  build  a  high-school  building  costing  $30,000  when  finished. 

In  the  Kingman  high  school  there  is  a  college  preparatory  course  of  four 
years,  a  general  course  of  four  years,  a  business  course  not  definitely  de¬ 
cided  upon,  and  a  teachers’  course.  This  latter  is  especially  designed  for 
teachers  coming  in  at  the  close  of  their  terms  of  school  for  advanced  work. 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting.  27 

This  course  has  been  taken  advantage  of  this  year  by  a  large  number  of 
teachers. 

The  general  effect  in  our  county  has  been  exceptionally  good,  and  there 
has  not  been  a  week  within  the  last  three  months  but  what  I  have  been 
approached  by  farmers  coming  into  my  office  and  asking  about  the  county 
high  school,  and  a  good  many  of  them  are  making  arrangements  to  move  to 
town,  either  temporarily  or  permanently,  to  educate  their  children. 

The  levy  is  two  mills  on  a  valuation  of  two  and  one-third  million  dollars. 

Mr.  Fairchild  said:  “Among  the  many  excellent  things  said  by 
Mr.  Starr  two  are  of  special  importance.  One  is  the  question  of 
fairness  in  establishing  high  schools  under  the  Barnes  law,  and  the 
other  is  relative  to  the  danger  that  certain  schools  will  attempt  to 
do  the  work  when  they  are  really  too  weak.  I  would  be  very  care¬ 
ful  about  encouraging  the  county  to  attempt  a  high  school  simply 
because  of  the  opportunity  to  get  hold  of  county  money.  It  is 
much  better  for  the  weak  district  to  endeavor  to  have  one  or  two 
years  of  high-school  work,  and  to  do  that  well,  than  to  overburden 
themselves  with  attempting  the  impossible.” 

Prof.  W.  H.  Johnson,  of  Lawrence,  in  discussing  this  subject, 
said,  in  part: 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  In  justice  to  the  speaker  on  the  next  topic,  and 
also  because  of  the  fact  that  the  subject  upon  which  I  am  to  speak  has  been 
so  thoroughly  discussed  by  the  assistant  state  superintendent,  I  promise  you 
that  I  shall  occupy  your  time  for  only  a  brief  period. 

I  have  been  asked  to  discuss  the  Barnes  law  in  its  relationship  to  the 
University.  The  first  clause  of  the  law  provides  for  a  standard  which 
schools  shall  maintain  before  they  shall  participate  in  any  funds  arising 
under  its  provisions.  The  standard  indicated  in  this  first  clause  would  seem 
to  mean  that  any  school,  before  participation  in  any  funds,  shall  have  main¬ 
tained  a  course  of  study  which  shall  enable  stud  nts  who  have  completed  the 
same  to  enter  the  freshman  class  of  the  College  of  Liberal  Arts  and  Sciences 
of  the  State  University.  We  take  this  to  mean  that  any  school  meeting 
these  requirements  should  maintain  a  course  of  study  which  provides  for  at 
least  twelve  of  the  prescribed  units  for  entrance  to  this  college  as  indicated 
in  the  annual  catalogue.  This  is  the  minimum  requirement  for  entrance  to 
the  freshman  class,  and  since  the  law  does  not  indicate  that  the  graduate  of 
such  a  school  shall  be  admitted  to  the  University  without  condition,  we 
have  felt  that,  for  the  good  of  the  high  schools,  and  in  order  that  smaller 
schools  may  not  be  put  to  the  expense  of  carrying  a  fourth  year’s  work, 
it  would  be  not  only  just  but  wise  to  place  the  standard  of  requirement  for 
all  schools  that  participate  in  this  law  at  the  minimum  requirement  for 
entrance  to  the  University. 

Now,  if  this  standard  is  placed  at  twelve  units  of  prescribed  work  it  will 
be  necessary  for  each  school  to  employ  two  teachers  who  shall  devote  their 
whole  time  to  high-school  work.  If  the  classes  are  all  represented  on  the 
program  this  standard  will  require  at  least  twelve  recitations  per  day  which 
will  make  sufficient  work  for  two  teachers.  According  to  the  accepted  high- 
school  standards  in  all  the  Middle  states,  no  high-school  teacher  should  be 


28 


Proceedings  of 


required  to  carry  more  than  six  recitations  per  day,  each  recitation  should 
be  at  least  forty  minutes  in  length,  and  no  student  should  be  permitted  to 
carry  more  than  four  subjects,  except  perhaps  in  a  few  special  cases;  if, 
however,  classes  are  not  all  represented,  conditions  might  exist  in  some 
schools  in  which  the  full  time  of  two  teachers  would  not  be  required ;  in 
such  cases  the  superintendent  might  provide  additional  subjects  or  apportion 
a  part  of  the  eighth-grade  work  to  one  of  the  high  school  teachers. 

Much  inquiry  has  been  made  at  the  office  of  the  high-school  visitor  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  time  when  a  school  shall  be  able  to  participate  in  the  Barnes 
law  fund.  It  seems  to  me  that  a  careful  reading  of  the  first  section  will 
make  this  very  clear.  A  school  shall  have  maintained  a  course  of  study 
which  will  admit  its  graduates  to  the  freshman  class.  It  would  be  impos¬ 
sible  for  a  school  which  had  carried  less  than  three  years’  work  to  partici¬ 
pate  in  this  fund,  because  their  graduates  would  be  unable  to  enter  the 
freshman  class  of  the  State  University. 

What  has  been  said  above  applies  only  to  high  schools  which  are  en¬ 
deavoring  to  meet  a  standard  which  shall  enable  them  to  participate  in  the 
Barnes  law  fund.  The  law  also  provides  for  a  standard  which  shall  be  main¬ 
tained  by  any  school  which  is  organized  under  its  provisions.  Each  school 
thus  organized  is  required  to  maintain  two  courses  of  study,  one  of  which 
shall  fully  prepare  its  graduates  to  enter  the  freshman  class  of  the  State 
University.  The  other  shall  be  a  general  course,  which  is  intended  for  stu¬ 
dents  who  are  not  preparing  to  enter  any  school  after  completing  their  work 
in  the  secondary  schools.  Any  high  school  that  fully  pre  >ares  its  students 
to  enter  the  freshman  class  of  the  State  University  must  offer  at  least  fifteen 
units  of  prescribed  work,  a  unit  meaning  a  year’s  work  of  thirty- five  weeks, 
five  recitations  per  week,  each  recitation  forty  minutes  in  length.  Such  a 
school  would  also  be  expected  to  equip  its  laboratories  for  individual  work  of 
all  students  who  take  either  physical  or  biological  science;  it  would  also  be 
expected  to  provide  a  good  working  library,  consisting  of  reference  books, 
English  classics,  reference  books  in  history,  maps,  charts,  etc. 

This  standard  did  not  originate  with  the  University  of  Kansas;  it  has 
been  worked  out  by  experienced  high-school  principals  and  college  and  uni¬ 
versity  professors  who  have  given  special  thought  and  attention  to  the 
whole  field  of  secondary  school  work  in  its  relation  to  college  and  university 
curricula.  The  North  Central  Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools 
has  done  more  than  any  other  organization  in  unifying  and  standardizing  high- 
school  work.  Through  its  efforts  all  the  universities  in  the  North  Central 
states  have  introduced  uniform  entrance  requirements,  and  have  practically 
agreed  upon  what  shall  constitute  a  university,  and,  also,  what  would  nat¬ 
urally  follow  from  this,  this  organization  has  indicated  the  scope  of  work 
which  should  be  strictly  characterized  as  belonging  to  secondary  schools. 
This  association  has  not  only  determined  upon  the  number  of  units  which  a 
preparatory  high  school  should  carry,  but  it  has  defined  the  limits  and  scope 
of  each  unit  of  work. 

The  State  University  of  Kansas,  being  a  member  of  this  association,  has 
approved  of  the  standards  set  by  it  for  the  high  schools  of  Kansas,  and  has 
made  its  requirements  for  entrance  conform  with  those  of  this  association 
as  nearly  as  the  conditions  in  our  state  will  permit.  It  is  not  possible  yet, 
however,  to  reach  the  standard  held  up  by  the  North  Central  Association. 
We  have  always  in  this  state  expected  more  of  our  high  schools  and  their 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


29 


teachers  than  the  communities  in  which  these  high  schools  exist  have  been 
able  to  provide.  The  same  is  true  to-day,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  all  interested 
in  higher  education  that  the  Barnes  law  will  put  funds  at  the  command  of 
the  high-school  officials  which  will  enable  them  to  bring  our  high  schools  to 
the  standard  maintained  in  other  states.  The  University,  while  it  recom¬ 
mends  the  higher  standard  for  our  schools,  yet  it  admits  students  from 
schools  which  are  not  yet  able  to  meet  all  of  its  requirements.  If  we  hope 
to  build  up  in  our  state  a  system  of  high  schools  which  will  fulfill  the  re¬ 
quirements  made  by  other  states,  such  as  Michigan,  Illinois,  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin,  we  shall  be  obliged  to  make  the  term  uniformly  nine  months  in 
length,  provide  a  sufficient  number  of  teachers,  equip  the  schools  with  every¬ 
thing  necessary  to  facilitate  the  work  of  instruction,  and,  finally,  pay  sala¬ 
ries  which  will  command  the  services  of  teachers  who  are  thoroughly  equipped 
for  the  profession  of  high-school  teaching  and  administration. 

This  law  brings  to  the  county  superintendent  a  new  and  very  important 
responsibility.  The  apportionment  of  the  funds  which  accrue  under  the  pro¬ 
visions  of  this  law  is  entrusted  to  the  county  superintendent.  He  is  also  to 
determine  whether  a  school  is  maintaining  its  course  of  study  and  standard 
of  work  up  to  the  requirements  outlined  by  the  State  University.  This,  of 
course,  means  visitation  and  some  authority  in  the  arrangement  of  studies, 
as  well  as  general  oversight  over  the  school.  In  all  of  this  work  the  county 
superintendent  may  have  the  cooperation  of  the  State  University,  and, 
whenever  necessary,  and  as  often  as  practicable,  the  high-school  visitor 
will  visit  schools  organized  under  this  law,  at  which  time  he  will  make  it  a 
point  to  consult  with  the  county  superintendent  upon  any  subjects  of  vital 
interest  to  the  schools. 

Two  things  are  of  vital  importance  to  the  standard  of  work  maintained 
in  these  high  schools.  In  the  first  place  there  may  be  a  tendency  to  admit 
students  to  high  schools  who  are  not  prepared  to  carry  on  high-school  work, 
since  enrolment  has  much  to  do  with  the  apportionment  of  the  funds.  It  is 
very  important  that  the  grade  of  work  be  of  the  best  quality,  and  that  stu¬ 
dents  be  not  admitted  to  the  high  school  until  they  have  passed  a  standard 
examination  and  are  entitled  to  promotion  through  the  regular  methods 
provided  by  law.  The  second  point  is  the  preparation  of  the  instructors 
who  are  employed  to  prepare  these  pupils  for  college  work.  As  a  rule  the 
standard  in  our  schools  is  high,  and  from  all  indications  authorities  are  de¬ 
manding  a  higher  standard  of  scholarship  of  our  high-school  teachers  than 
ever  before;  but  it  is  not  so  everywhere.  Let  us  be  sure  that  our  high- 
school  students  are  placed  under  the  direction  of  persons  who  are  competent 
in  every  way  to  lead  them  through  this  very  important  period  of  their  edu¬ 
cation. 

Supt.  A.  S.  Hiaft,  of  Linn  county,  gave  as  the  reason  that  the 
law  failed  in  his  county  that  the  people  of  the  country  had  nothing 
to  say  as  to  the  expenditure  of  the  money. 

Supt.  Miss  Josie  Park,  of  Wilson  county,  said  the  law  had  stim¬ 
ulated  Altoona  to  come  up  to  the  standard. 

“School  Visitation”  is  the  next  subject.  Under  the  heading, 
“Its  Real  Purpose,”  Supt.  C.  O.  Bowman,  Douglas  county,  said: 

To  me  the  visitation  period  is  the  bright  spot  in  my  official  career.  Some- 


30 


Proceedings  of 


times  I  get  discouraged  when  I  start  out  on  a  balmy  morning,  get  thirty- five 
miles  away  from  home,  and  am  caught  in  a  blizzard;  when  I  meet  and  see 
such  varying  methods  and  conditions  in  schools,  etc.;  and  yet,  when  I  come 
in  at  the  end  of  the  trip  and  sit  down  to  sum  up  what  I  have  seen  and  what 
I  have  heard,  I  find  that  the  good  things  overshadow  the  weak  ones;  that 
good  work  is  predominant,  and  that  fair  conditions  exist;  and  yet  I  find  many 
things  that  are  enough  to  make  the  heart  sick.  I  speak  only  of  my  own 
county,  and  I  think  I  have  as  good  a  county  as  there  is  in  the  state  of  Kan¬ 
sas.  We  have  outside  influences  there— incentives  that  a  great  many  coun¬ 
ties  do  not  have.  We  have  the  great  University  of  Kansas  standing  up  there 
on  the  hill  looking  down  over  the  county,  and  the  great  denominational  Meth¬ 
odist  school  at  Baldwin  set  in  one  corner  of  the  county.  We  have  all  the 
necessary  surroundings  to  make  our  conditions  pleasant,  and  yet  we  have  a 
great  many  things  that  are  not  what  they  ought  to  be. 

School  visitation  is  the  one  opportunity  the  county  superintendent  has  of 
leaving  an  impression  upon  the  schools  of  his  county;  and  if  he  fails  to  do 
this,  if  he  allows  this  opportunity  to  pass  by  without  leaving  an  imprint 
upon  the  schools,  he  is  not  worthy  of  the  position  the  people  have  placed  him 
in,  and  should  retire  as  soon  as  possible,  because  this  is  the  only  time,  in 
fact,  that  he  comes  in  close  contact  with  the  pupils  and  teachers  and  gets 
right  into  the  schoolroom  work  and  observes  what  the  teacher  is  doing. 

First  when  I  visit  a  school  I  take  an  inventory  of  the  outside,  and  some¬ 
times  1  have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  what  there  is  on  the  inside  by  looking 
at  outside  conditions.  I  notice  whether  the  weeds  are  cut,  whether  the 
fences  are  in  order,  whether  the  approaches  to  the  building  are  in  proper 
condition  and  well  kept.  I  also  inspect  all  outbuildings,  and  in  this  latter 
matter  frequently  find  a  most  lamentable  condition  of  affairs.  I  might,  it 
is  true,  visit  the  school  and  fail  to  see  all  these  things,  or,  if  found,  keep  them 
to  myself,  but  I  have  felt  that  my  duty  was  otherwise.  I  have  written  let¬ 
ters  to  members  of  school  boards  on  these  topics  that  have  occasioned  me 
trouble  in  the  end,  having  engendered  the  enmity  of  a  number  of  people  in 
calling  attention  in  language  that  could  not  be  misunderstood,  and  I  presume 
that  when  the  matter  of  election  comes  up  somebody  else  will  get  their  vote, 
but  such  is  my  duty  as  I  see  it. 

I  have  taken  photographs  of  a  great  many  school  buildings  and  school 
children.  I  have  taken  residences  in  the  district  and  I  even  go  out  and  take 
photographs  of  some  farmer’s  barns  and  even  his  hog-pens,  and  I  have 
taken  photographs  of  the  coal  house  and  outbuildings,  and  have  gone  so 
far  as  to  show  the  patrons  that  the  scenes  in  and  around  the  schoolhouse 
show  exactly  the  conditions  under  which  their  children  live  during  the  hours 
they  are  at  school.  Sometimes  I  find  the  pig  has  the  better  of  the  boy. 

Having  satisfied  myself  as  to  conditions  on  the  outside  and  fixed  in  my 
mind  what  I  shall  recommend  to  the  board,  I  step  inside,  and  naturally  the 
first  thing  that  strikes  my  attention  is  the  condition  of  the  schoolroom.  I 
imagine,  fellow  superintendents,  that  you  can  step  into  a  schoolroom  and 
in  fifteen  minutes  come  to  a  pretty  fair  conclusion  as  to  the  kind  of  school 
that  is  being  taught  in  that  room.  To  comply  with  the  law  one  must  visit 
the  school  one  hour,  and  for  that  reason  a  school  that  needs  my  attention 
but  fifteen  minutes  gets  one  hour.  As  soon  as  I  determine  the  condition  of 
the  school,  I  then  determine  what  I  shall  do  to  aid  the  teacher.  I  observe 
the  ventilation  on  entering  the  room.  Often  the  air  is  so  thick  that  you  could 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


31 


almost  cut  it  with  a  knife.  Should  not  the  superintendent  discuss  these 
matters  with  the  teacher? 

As  to  the  matter  of  program,  the  very  first  thing  I  ask  from  my  teach¬ 
ers  after  school  has  commenced  is  to  send  me  a  copy  of  the  daily  program. 
Sometimes  I  write  two  or  three  times  to  get  it,  but  I  get  it.  I  tell  them,  “I 
want  a  copy  of  your  program  just  exactly  as  you  use  it.”  I  also  ask  them 
for  a  classification  of  their  pupils.  I  want  the  year  and  the  work  they  are 
in.  I  go  back  to  my  last  year’s  work  and  compare.  I  discover  that  John 
Smith,  of  district  46,  who  was  in  the  sixth  year,  had  only  attended  fifty-two 
days  out  of  the  whole  term,  and  Mr.  B.  did  not  promote  him;  but  Mr.  C., 
the  new  teacher,  has  promoted  him  and  put  the  boy  in  the  seventh  grade. 
However,  I  am  now  prepared,  and  help  Mr.  C.  to  place  the  boy  where  he 
belongs.  This  is  one  way  I  have  of  discovering  the  weak  school  at  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  year. 

Where  the  program  is  too  long,  I  endeavor  to  assist  the  teacher  in  cut¬ 
ting  it  down.  Last  year  I  found  one  teacher  that  had  thirty-two  recitations 
per  day.  When  I  got  through  with  that  program  there  were  twenty-two 
recitations ;  we  cut  out  ten. 

The  next  thing  that  I  observe  is  the  teacher’s  method  in  class  work  and 
endeavor  to  suggest  plans  that  will  help  her  in  this  particular.  The  super¬ 
intendent’s  visit  ought  to  be  a  great  stimulus  to  the  pupils.  There  are  op¬ 
portunities  for  each  of  us  to  instill  ideals  into  the  minds  of  our  pupils. 

Supt.  Miss  Rose  Allen,  of  Bourbon,  in  discussing  the  subdivi¬ 
sion  “How  Often  Should  We  Visit  and  How  Long?”  said  we 
should  visit  as  often  as  we  can.  We  can  do  more  good  by  visiting 
than  in  any  other  way.  The  successful  general  is  with  his  men  in 
action  as  well  as  in  spirit.  Where  100  or  more  teachers  are  em¬ 
ployed  the  superintendent  should  have  an  assistant.  In  the  large 
counties  thorough  visiting  without  an  assistant  is  impossible.  Each 
school  should  be  visited  at  least  twice  each  year,  and  at  least  half 
a  day  should  be  given  to  each  school. 

Supt.  C.  I.  Vinsonhaler,  Doniphan  county,  discussed  the  sub¬ 
ject  “How  to  Find  the  Weak  Schools  so  that  They  May  be  Visited 
Early  in  the  Year.”  Mr.  Vinsonhaler  said,  in  part : 

This  topic  assigned  me,  “How  to  Find  the  Weak  Schools,”  it  seems  to 
me,  should  read  “Seek  ye  the  weak  schools  early  and  ye  shall  find  them, 
for,  like  the  poor,  we  have  them  always  with  us.”  I  have  learned  from  my 
friend  Jno.  MacDonald  the  art  of  dividing.  I  shall,  therefore,  divide  my 
topic  into  three  “haids.  ” 

1.  We  shall  find  weak  teachers  by  coming  in  contact  with  them  and  by 
talking  with  them.  We  know  by  personal  interview  with  a  teacher  whether 
that  teacher  is  likely  to  be  a  strong  or  a  weak  teacher. 

2.  I  suppose  we  are  to  consider  merely  those  who  are  teaching  for  the 
first  time.  If  they  attend  the  institute  we  can  know  them  in  the  institute 
and  by  the  work  done  there,  and  we  may  know  them  by  their  examination 
papers.  That  is  a  pretty  good  test;  especially  when  they  do  not  stick  close 
enough  to  get  any  help  or  instruction  from  the  people  around  them. 

3.  We  may  find  out  through  the  people  of  the  district.  We  may  learn 


32 


Proceedings  of 


from  some  good,  conscientious  men  of  the  district  whether  or  not  the  teacher 
is  giving  satisfaction.  Still,  if  this  man  has  pupils  in  the  school,  I  do  not 
know  whether  we  could  rely  upon  him  or  not.  It  would  be  better  to  ask  of 
some  one  who  has  no  children  in  the  school. 

I  wish  to  say  just  a  word  with  reference  to  the  weak  teachers.  We  have 
them,  we  have  them,  oh,  we  do  have  them,  and  we  would  like  to  get  rid  of 
them.  I  do  not  blame  the  teacher;  I  blame  the  system  that  we  have.  I 
blame  the  system  that  we  have  that  permits  boys  and  girls  of  eighteen  years 
of  age  to  go  into  the  schoolroom  as  soon  as  they  can  pass  an  examination 
and  get  a  third-grade  certificate.  It  is  the  fault  of  the  law,  and  what  can 
be  done?  I  am  heartily  in  sympathy  with  Professor  Johnson’s  talk  this 
afternoon  to  have  the  teachers  make  preparation.  'The  question  of  weak 
teachers  ought  to  be  eliminated  from  our  schools.  I  tell  you  it  ought  not  to 
be,  but  so  long  as  our  law  provides  for  it  so  long  it  will  be  that  way.  I  try 
to  discourage  these  young  teachers  from  going  into  the  profession  until  they 
have  completed  at  least  the  high-school  course.  We  will  have  these  weak 
teachers  with  us,  and  the  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  find  them  out  and  visit 
them  often. 

The  general  discussion  was  opened  by  Supt.  Miss  Jennie  Davy, 
Harper  county,  who  said  : 

This  subject  of  school  visitation  is  one  of  vital  moment  just  now.  I  be¬ 
lieve  the  order  is  “When,  Where  and  Howto  Visit,  ”  but  in  the  discussion  it 
seems  best  to  begin  with,  how  to  visit.  Certainly  we  are  to  go  to  the 
teacher  as  a  friend  and  helper,  and  in  order  to  be  the  best  friend  and  helper, 
we  ourselves  must  be  instiucted  in  principles  and  trained  in  methods  that 
we  may  be  able  to  judge  and  advise  aright.  During  a  number  of  the  past 
years  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  the  teacher  of  methods  in  the  Harper 
county  institute;  and  now,  as  I  take  up  the  work  of  visiting  the  schools  of  the 
county,  I  feel  that  I  am  testing  my  instructions. 

I  believe  Emerson  says:  “No  matter  how  poor  I  am— no  matter  though 
the  prosperous  of  my  own  time  will  not  enter  my  humble  dwelling,  if  the 
sacred  writers  will  enter  and  take  up  their  abode  under  my  roof,  if  Milton 
will  sing  to  me  of  Paradise,  and  Shakespeare  unfold  to  me  the  worlds  of 
imagination  and  workings  of  the  human  heart,  and  Franklin  enrich  me  with 
his  practical  wisdom,  I  shall  not  pine  for  want  of  intellectual  companionship 
and  I  may  become  a  cultivated  man  though  excluded  from  what  is  called  the 
best  society  in  the  place  where  I  live.” 

Only  as  we  believe  teaching  to  be  the  greatest  work  in  the  world  can  we 
make  our  teachers  believe  it.  We  are  to  visit,  at  least  according  to  the 
law,  every  school  once  during  the  school  year;  but  some  of  these  schools 
will  need  us  more  often,  and  when  we  visit  the  weak  school  or  the  weak 
teacher  we  should  leave  with  the  impression  that  we  shall  see  this  school 
very  soon  again.  And  where  personal  visits  seem  impossible  we  have  re¬ 
course  to  the  ever-helpful  and  friendly  letter,  for  we  must  touch  the  very 
heart  of  that  weak  teacher  and  let  her  see  how  anxious  we  are  for  her  suc¬ 
cess,  and  lead  her  to  believe  that  earnest,  continued  effort  on  her  part 
means  success.  We  must  lead  her  to  try  to  be  able  to  say,  “  I  am  doing 
better  to-day  than  1  did  yesterday;  there  is  more  thought  and  skill  in  my 
work;  there  is  more  humanity  in  my  heart,  and  more  Christ  in  my  spirit.” 

When  I  visit:  As  soon  as  possible.  Well  begun  is  half  done,  and  we 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


33 


know  that  a  few  suggestions  if  given  at  the  right  time  and  in  the  right 
way  may  prevent  a  world  of  trouble,  and  if  disorder  has  taken  hold  of  a 
school  it  will  take  much  to  restore  order  to  that  school.  We  want  to  visit 
the  youngest,  the  weakest,  the  most  inexperienced  first,  if  possible,  and 
these  visits  dare  not  be  hurried  ones  if  we  are  to  note  the  true  character 
and  personality  of  the  teacher.  The  progress  we  make  in  this  school  year 
will  largely  depend  upon  the  help  we  are  able  to  give  during  the  early  part 
of  the  term.  It  seems  to  me  that  every  visit  might  be  followed  with  profit 
by  a  personal  letter.  We  may  help  every  teacher  to  become  informed,  ac¬ 
complished  and  educated,  and  thus  courtesy  may  become  contagious  and 
find  its  way  into  every  home  in  the  district  and  be  a  joy  to  old  and  young 
alike.  I  know  how  much  thought,  how  much  planning  and  how  much  more 
work  it  will  take  to  carry  such  a  theory  out,  but  when  we  have  dme  it  we 
shall  have  accomplished  something  worth  while.  The  great  workers  in  our 
world,  the  men  who  have  moved  our  educational  world,  have  only  been  able 
to  do  this  because  they  gave  their  whole  heart,  their  undivided  attention  to 
the  matter  in  hand. 

Superintendent  Fairchild  said:  “The  mechanical  accessories  of 
a  school  are  not  the  vital  things.  The  great  thing  is  to  develop 
the  character  of  the  boys  and  girls;  to  leave  in  the  atmosphere  of 
the  room  the  feeling  that  you  have  heart-power  and  sympathy  for 
pupils  and  teachers.” 

Superintendent  Stanley,  Lincoln  county,  then  said:  “I  just  \yant 
to  say  a  word  or  two  about  my  plan  of  visiting.  I  visit  a  school 
this  week,  and  next  week  I  see  the  same  school  again,  and  if  I  am 
not  satisfied  with  the  work  I  ask  them  to  put  in  practice  certain 
suggestions  I  make,  and  ask  them  to  write  me.  If  things  are  not 
working  right  after  this  has  been  done,  I  go  back  and  offer  further 
suggestions.” 

Supt.  D.  H.  Holt,  Cherokee  county,  said: 

I  am  one  of  the  young  superintendents,  or  rather  one  of  the  new  super¬ 
intendents  in  our  state,  and  it  would  seem  that  I  should  remain  quiet  and 
listen  to  the  others.  Of  course,  we  new  superintendents  are  a  good  deal  like 
the  new  teacher— when  he  starts  out  he  has  his  theories.  I  have  had  con¬ 
siderable  experience  in  teaching,  and  I  remember  superintendents  that  have 
visited  my  schools.  I  have  gotten  very  little  from  the  county  superin¬ 
tendents.  Now,  after  I  found  I  was  county  superintendent,  I  think  one 
of  the  things  that  impressed  me  most,  and  that  probably  has  caused  me 
more  trouble  than  anything  else,  is  this  thing  of  how  to  be  able  to  help  some 
weak  teacher,  and  during  our  institute  my  principal  aim  was  to  get  some 
point  before  the  weak  teacher  to  make  him  a  stronger  and  more  progressive 
teacher. 

I  believe  in  uniformity.  I  believe  in  a  uniform  course  of  study,  and,  as 
far  as  possible,  I  believe  in  a  uniform  course  of  study  in  our  country  schools, 
and  during  the  last  month  I  have  been  working  on  this  principle:  that  if  an 
army  is  well  fortified,  the  battle  is  more  surely  won.  We  had  a  conference 
with  our  teachers,  discussing  school  matters,  and  during  the  past  month  we 
-3 


34 


Proceedings  of 


have  arranged  a  program  that  I  think  will  suit  conditions  in  our  country 
schools.  It  will  give  them  a  start  at  any  rate;  they  will  have  to  make 
some  changes,  but  it  will  help  me  in  my  visits. 

Supt.  A.  S.  Hiatt,  Linn  county:  “Should  the  superintendent 
talk  formally  to  the  school  ?” 

Superintendent  Fairchild  replied:  “It  depends  on  the  speaker; 
talk  is  not  always  necessary.  ‘My  dear  children,  I  am  glad  to  look 
in  your  bright  faces,’  is  all  worn  out.” 

Superintendent  Fairchild  announced  that  he  proposed  to  have 
a  third  day’s  session  of  the  county  superintendents  and  institute 
conductors  and  instructors  after  the  adjournment  of  the  State 
Teachers’  Association  next  December.  At  this  after-meeting  in¬ 
stitute  problems  would  be  discussed  under  the  management  of  the 
State  Board  of  Education. 

Superintendent  Fairchild  then  appointed  the  following  commit¬ 
tees  : 

On  program  for  State  Teachers’  Association  in  December,  Su¬ 
perintendents  Randall,  Wells,  Wetzig,  and  Allen;  Mr.  Fairchild,  ex 
officio  chairman. 

On  resolutions  and  permanent  organization,  Superintendents 
Vinsonhaler,  Hinshaw,  and  Davy. 

On  examination  questions,  Superintendents  Carter,  McDaniel, 
and  Kirby.  Superintendents  Codding  and  Kelsey  were  then  chosen 
by  the  superintendents  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  above  com¬ 
mittee  on  the  question  of  county  graduation.  The  latter  commit¬ 
tee  to  report  at  the  meeting  during  the  holidays. 

EVENING  SESSION,  AUGUST  28,  1907. 

The  first  subject  on  the  program  for  the  evening,  “Elementary 
Agriculture,”  was  discussed  at  length  by  Supt.  A.  J.  Stanley,  of 
Lincoln.  Mr.  Stanley  said,  in  part: 

Lincoln  county  was  ripe  for  this  subject  before  I  became  county  superin¬ 
tendent.  We  have  some  people  there  who  attended  the  State  Agricultural 
College,  and  came  back  home  full  of  ideas,  and  they  have  talked  it,  as  people 
who  have  good  ideas  usually  do ;  and  then  my  predecessor,  Mr.  Lyon,  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  State  Text- book  Commission,  was  enthusiastic  along  this  line  also. 

Not  quite  a  year  ago,  when  the  institute  was  held,  Doctor  Burkett,  of 
the  State  Agricultural  College,  was  one  of  the  speakers.  When  I  heard 
Doctor  Burkett  speak  I  received  such  an  inspiration  in  that  line  that  I  made 
up  my  mind  I  would  find  a  way  to  introduce  the  study  of  agriculture  into 
the  public  schools  of  the  county.  Within  two  or  three  days  of  the  time  I 
heard  him  speak  I  found  in  the  school  laws  that  section  which  states  what 
subjects  must  be  taught  in  the  public  schools,  “and  such  other  subjects  as 
the  school  board  may  elect.”  That  was  just  what  I  wanted,  and  I  immedi¬ 
ately  started  out  to  educate  district  boards.  I  want  agriculture  taught  in 


County  Superintendents *  Meeting. 


35 


the  Lincoln  county  public  schools  this  year.  Such  things  as  seed  selection 
and  testing,  soil  preservation,  moisture  conservation— cultivating  the  soil  so 
as  to  retain  the  moisture.  Such  knowledge  will  lead  the  boys  and  girls  to 
stay  upon  the  farm  where  they  belong,  besides  being  of  great  value  to  them 
in  other  ways. 

We  can  give  the  idea,  the  individual  must  work  it  out  for  himself,  so  I 
thought  it  best  to  go  at  it  in  that  manner,  talking  about  it  at  public  meet¬ 
ings,  speaking  upon  agriculture  in  season  and  out  of  season,  getting  school 
boards  together ;  and  afterward  I  got  five  or  six  boards  to  purchase  Doctor 
Burkett’s  little  book  on  agriculture  and  teach  it  in  their  districts.  The  mat¬ 
ter  grew  until  before  long  I  had  thirty-five  teachers  who  were  teaching  this 
little  book  in  their  schools. 

I  took  the  subject  of  corn,  because  corn  is  the  most  important  crop  in  the 
state,  worth  the  most,  most  widely  distributed,  and  is  so  easily  taught. 
These  are  some  of  the  things  I  try  to  have  them  teach:  '  The  time  to 
select  seed-corn.  I  teach  farmers  that  they  should  select  corn  for  seed  at 
this  time  of  the  year— in  the  fall.  If  they  desire  early  corn,  it  would  be  the 
easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  select  seed  at  this  time  of  the  year.  If  you  de¬ 
sire  early  corn,  go  into  the  field,  make  your  selection,  and  tie  a  rag  string 
about  it.  Select  some  uniform  height  that  you  want,  and  select  ears  along 
about  the  same  height  all  the  way,  select  from  a  good,  strong  stalk,  and  at 
husking-time  secure  the  ear  of  corn  for  seed. 

This  spring  I  talked  to  them  about  seed  testing  and  seed  germination. 
Where  the  farmer  leaves  the  selection  of  his  seed-corn  until  spring,  he  knows 
nothing  of  the  origin  of  the  corn  he  selects,  or  anything  about  it.  I  would 
get  them  interested  in  the  idea  of  selecting  the  seed-corn  in  the  fall  of  the 
year.  The  boys  are  talking  to  their  fathers  about  it,  and  there  is  where  we 
are  going  to  get  results. 

I  urged  upon  the  teacher  to  take  a  box  and  prepare  for  the  seed  test,  and 
take  sand.  They  could  not  understand  why  they  should  not  take  black  mold. 
Check  the  box  of  sand  off  in  squares,  something  like  the  sections  of  a 
township,  and  have  as  many  squares  as  ears  you  are  going  to  test.  Select 
kernels,  two  from  tip  end,  two  from  the  butt,  and  two  from  the  center,  and 
plant  them;  the  two  from  the  end  at  the  top  of  the  square,  the  two  from 
the  center  in  the  center  of  the  square,  and  the  two  from  the  butt  at  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  the  square.  Treat  No.  2  in  the  same  way,  and  so  on.  (Then  followed 
a  description  of  the  germinating  of  the  corn  and  the  lessons  to  be  taught 
the  children.) 

The  farmer  who  farms  a  field  of  corn  with  a  stand  of  but  33&  per  cent, 
loses  one-third  of  his  time  and  the  profit  the  land  should  yield.  Last  year, 
in  Iowa,  P.  G.  Holden,  the  great  expert  of  Iowa,  by  testing  the  seed  right 
from  the  planter,  found  that  the  average  in  Iowa  was  only  about  66§  per 
cent,  stand.  Get  this  idea  before  the  boys  and  girls,  tell  what  the  actual 
germinating  power  of  that  corn  is,  explain  fully  and  carefully  how  a  corn- 
tester  is  to  be  made,  and  the  boys  will  go  home  at  night  and  make  a  corn- 
tester,  and  the  first  thing  you  know  the  father  will  have  a  great  big  tester, 
and  be  testing  two  bushels  of  corn  at  a  time. 

By  studying  the  cultivation  of  corn,  we  may  get  the  intelligent  interest 
of  the  children  and  cause  them  to  see  and  know  and  think,  and  make  them 
take  an  interest  in  things  about  them.  A  little  intelligent  observation  means 
a  great  deal.  Intelligent  interest  may  produce  a  great  deal.  ( Here  Mr. 


36  Proceedings  of 

Stanley  gave  the  bread-pan  and  lamp-chimney  test.  It  shows  how  the  soil 
conserves  moisture.) 

The  fertility  of  the  soil  needs  to  be  preserved  here  in  this  great  state  of 
Kansas,  with  its  rich  productiveness.  The  soil  is  being  exhausted.  Taking 
from  it  year  after  year  and  giving  nothing  back  is  drawing  too  largely  upon 
its  natural  resources,  and  in  the  end  means  exhaustion  of  the  soil.  I  would 
have  the  teacher  impress  these  things  strongly  upon  the  minds  of  the  chil¬ 
dren— that  the  same  crop  cannot  be  raised  year  after  year  on  the  same  soil 
without  exhausting  the  soil.  (Then  Mr.  Stanley  spoke  of  crop  rotation,  and 
also  of  raising  certain  crops  for  the  purpose  of  plowing  them  under  in  order 
to  restore  to  the  soil  the  phosphates,  etc.,  that  have  been  exhausted.) 

Some  farmers  burn  the  corn-stalks  after  the  corn  has  been  gathered, 
some  burn  the  stubble  of  the  wheat-fields,  thus  robbing  the  soil  of  the  re¬ 
turns  that  should  be  made  to  it  in  the  form  of  a  fertilizer.  Plow  the  stalks 
and  the  wheat  stubble  under  and  let  them  enrich  the  earth  for  the  next  sea¬ 
son’s  crops;  something  must  be  given  back  to  the  soil  in  return  for  the 
bountiful  crops  harvested  from  year  to  year. 

Urge  upon  the  boy  and  girl  the  idea  that  they  should  stay  upon  the  farm. 
Too  many  are  drifting  to  the  towns.  I  like  the  idea  of  the  son  staying  upon 
the  farm.  I  would  rather  see  the  farms  cut  up  into  small  tracts  and  owned 
by  the  many,  than  in  large  tracts  and  owned  by  a  few. 

I  wish  to  urge  upon  the  teachers  that  this  subject  of  agriculture  be  not 
considered  a  difficult  thing  to  teach.  The  subject  unfolds  itself  in  such  an 
easy,  inspiring  way  as  to  be  the  means  of  a  great  enjoyment.  It  will  be  a 
great  and  lasting  pleasure  to  the  teacher  and  to  the  school.  I  tried  to  teac  h 
it  to  my  teachers  in  the  normal  institute,  and  all  of  them  are  going  to  try 
to  teach  it  this  coming  winter. 

The  discussion  was  opened  by  Superintendent  Carter,  of  Shaw¬ 
nee  county,  who  spoke  as  follows: 

I  did  not  know  I  was  to  discuss  this  paper  or  I  should  have  prepared  and 
brought  some  information  to  you  that  I  cannot  give  you,  not  knowing  be¬ 
forehand  that  I  was  to  discuss  the  paper.  I  can  better  tell  you  what  I  in¬ 
tend  to  do  than  what  I  have  done.  This  is  a  subject  that  has  come  to  stay. 
I  do  not  see  why  we  should  go  away  from  things  that  are  around  us  that 
are  so  interesting  and  study  of  myths  and  of  heroes  that  might  or  might  not 
have  been  a  long  time  ago. 

I  began  last  winter  with  lectures  by  Doctor  Burkett.  There  was  a  little 
curiosity  on  my  part  to  know  how  it  would  be  received.  It  was  received 
most  favorably,  indeed.  I  was  surprised  to  hear  the  hearty  indorsement 
that  the  teachers  gave.  I  was  firmly  convinced  in  my  mind  of  what  we 
ought  to  do,  but  had  said  very  little  about  it  until  we  had  these  lectures. 
During  the  institute  we  had  three  different  lectures  by  Professor  Miller,  of 
the  State  Agricultural  College.  I  think  that  paved  the  way  for  the  work 
this  winter  very  nicely.  I  propose  to  be  guided  very  largely  by  the  work 
sent  out  by  the  State  Agricultural  College.  The  College  was  established 
for  the  purpose  of  promoting  this  kind  of  instruction,  consequently  I  pro¬ 
pose  to  be  guided  very  largely  by  their  instructions  and  by  these  six  bulle¬ 
tins  that  are  to  be  sent  out.  Bulletin  No.  139,  that  Mr.  Stanley  spoke  of, 
I  secured  and  used  very  largely  in  the  corn-growing  contest,  with  great 
success.  We  have  our  contest  each  fall,  and  we  are  trying  to  associate  the 


County  Superintendents  Meeting. 


37 


corn-growing  contest  with  the  work  of  the  public  schools  just  as  much  as 
we  can,  and  in  this  way  the  boys  become  interested  in  farm  work. 

There  is  another  bulletin,  published  by  the  United  States  Board  of  Agri¬ 
culture,  called  “Our  Bird  Friends.”  Every  teacher  ought  to  have  this  bul¬ 
letin.  Study  bird  life  in  connection  with  agriculture;  also  the  subject  of 
insect  pests  in  conjunction  with  agriculture. 

Let  the  boys  and  girls  bring  questions  that  are  puzzling  the  farmers,  and 
if  the  teacher  cannot  answer  them,  then  submit  them  to  the  State  Agricul¬ 
tural  College. 

In  connection  with  the  poisonous  plants  we  might  discuss  wild  parsnip, 
the  loco- weed  and  other  poisonous  weeds,  that  is,  that  are  poisonous  to 
animals. 

The  rotation  of  crops  should  be  made  plain  to  the  boys  and  girls— the 
rotation  of  wheat  and  corn.  Teach  the  boys,  and  by  and  by  they  will  bring 
the  thought  home  to  the  fathers.  “  Why  are  you  planting  corn  all  the  while? 
Why  not  plant  something  else  and  return  to  the  soil  something  of  the  fer¬ 
tility  ?” 

Mr.  Carter  thought  it  well  to  give  to  the  boys  and'girls  more  of 
bird  study  and  the  study  of  insect  life  on  the  farm,  and  less  of  the 
ideas  brought  out  by  Mr.  Stanley  on  seed  selection,  germination, 
conservation  of  moisture,  etc. 

Prof.  J.  H.  Miller,  of  the  Agricultural  College,  then  discussed 
the  subject,  as  follows: 

I  am  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  to  talk  to  the  county  superintendents, 
because  it  indicates  business,  and  I  want,  at  the  beginning  of  the  very  few 
minutes  I  shall  use  this  evening,  to  commend  the  action  of  State  Superin¬ 
tendent  Fairchild  in  gathering  the  county  superintendents  together  for  a 
business  session.  This  meeting  will  mean  more  than  any  movement  that  has 
been  started  in  years  in  this  state.  The  address  that  we  have  heard  this 
evening  by  Superintendent  Stanley  in  outlining  the  work  that  he  has  under¬ 
taken  is  a  very  great  insp  ration  to  me  and  ought  to  be  to  all  of  us.  It  is  a 
definite  work  that  we  have  to  accomplish.  It  has  come  to  stay.  Twenty- 
five  counties  in  the  state  are  greatly  interested  in  this  subject.  The  country 
boys  and  girls,  and  even  the  young  men  and  women  who  have  been  reared 
in  towns,  are  greatly  interested  in  the  subject  of  agriculture. 

Now,  what  has  so  far  been  done  is  all  voluntary.  There  is  a  general 
spirit  of  interest  in  the  movement,  and  very  much  more  will  be  accomplished 
than  if  we  had  a  legal  enactment  making  the  study  of  agriculture  compul¬ 
sory,  and  our  country  teachers  will  feel  that  it  belongs  to  them. 

The  counties  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  state  ought  to  practice  more 
particularly  intensive  farming,  fruit-growing,  clover-raising,  etc.  In  the 
western  part  of  the  state  farming  should  be  devoted  largely  to  alfalfa  and 
wheat-raising. 

Not  long  ago  I  sat  at  a  table  with  seven  other  bankers  (laughter)  —seven 
bankers,  I  should  say.  They  were  talking  agriculture  when  I  sat  down  I 
happened  to  know  one  or  two  and  they  introduced  me  to  others,  and  during 
the  whole  progress  of  the  dinner  the  bankers  showed  the  keenest  interest 
in  agriculture.  Each  man  owned  farms,  and  they  were  interested  in  farm^ 
ing.  Every  other  inter.-  depends  up jn  the  agricultural  interests.  “If  it 


38 


Proceedings  of 


were  not  for  the  farmers  we  could  not  continue  in  the  banking  business/’ 
they  said.  “We  are  making  our  money  from  the  surplus  funds  that  come 
to  us  from  the  farmer.  Everything  depends  upon  agriculture.” 

I  would  have  a  reading  circle  for  the  family  of  the  farmer,  taking  up  the 
subject  of  agriculture  and  study  about  it.  The  farmer  is  being  educated 
when  he  studies  seed  germination,  pollination,  etc.  We  will  have  to  educate 
the  boys  and  girls  in  the  fundamental  principles  of  agriculture.  It  must  be 
taught  in  the  country  school  by  those  who  are  teaching  in  the  country  school. 
I  know  I  have  gone  to  twenty-five  institutes  and  listened  to  civil  govern¬ 
ment,  and  found  that  the  teachers  did  not  know  very  much  about  the  subject 
of  civil  government,  and  the  same  is  true  of  grammar,  and  I  have  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  average  teacher  in  the  country  is  better  prepared  to 
teach  agriculture  to-day,  without  having  any  special  training,  than  she  is  to 
teach  civil  government  and  grammar.  Now,  I  believe  that  the  county  super¬ 
intendents  and  teachers  need  to  bring  this  home  to  their  pupils  thoroughly, 
that  the  farm  industries  afford  better  opportunities  to-day  for  the  training 
that  goes  to  make  up  a  happy,  successful  life  than  ever  before.  We  know 
the  movement  is  spreading,  we  know  the  interest  over  the  state  is  growing. 

At  the  College  the  matter  of  publishing  bulletins  to  assist  in  the  work  of 
teaching  Elementary  Agriculture  in  our  common  schools  was  brought  up 
several  times  for  consideration,  and  the  idea  was  talked  over  that  if  we  send 
these  bulletins  directly  to  the  teachers  and  furnish  the  material  there  will 
be  no  excuse  for  their  not  doing  the  work.  The  six  pamphlets  are  as  follows: 
(1)  Soil,  with  Relation  to  Fertility  and  Moisture;  (2)  How  Plants  Feed  and 
How  Plants  Grow;  (3)  Hygienic  Cookery;  (4)  Tree  Culture;  (5)  Birds  and 
Insects;  (6)  Live  Stock  on  the  Farm;  and  will  be  ser  t  directly  to  the  teacher, 
beginning  with  the  1st  of  October.  Now,  if  these  pamphlets  are  furnished 
to  your  teachers,  and  if  they  know  the  pamphlets  are  being  sent  out  not  only 
with  your  knowledge  but  with  your  consent,  and  know  that  you  are  looking 
to  them  to  do  the  work,  they  can  do  it,  including  it  in  their  general  exercises 
two  or  three  mornings  in  the  week. 

The  legal  steps  in  the  matter  are  to  be  taken  two  years  hence,  when  the 
teachers  will  be  ready  to  take  up  the  matter  in  earnest.  I  believe  there  is 
no  one  thing  for  the  next  two  or  four  years  of  your  office  of  more  importance 
than  the  starting  of  this  movement,  which  means  so  much  for  the  state  of 
Kansas  in  the  future. 

Superintendent  Ida  Collister,  Ottawa  county,  then  said:  “We 
just  started  this  last  winter.  I  have  talked  it  over  some  in  our 
county,  and  at  the  last  farmers’  institute  they  asked  me  to  be  present 
at  the  meeting.  They  proposed  that  we  put  it  in  our  institute 
course  this  year.  I  told  them  we  had  no  funds  out  of  which  I 
could  pay  an  instructor.  Then  the  farmers  said  they  would  pay  for 
it  themselves  if  we  would  put  it  in.  I  added  it  to  the  normal 
course,  and  we  had  Mr.  Shepherd,  of  Manhattan,  to  teach  it  in  the 
normal  two  weeks.” 

Superintendent  Rice,  Jefferson  county,  then  discussed  “Teach¬ 
ers’  and  Pupils’  Reading  Circle  Work,”  and  said,  in  part: 

This  reading  circle  work  is  certainly  fraught  with  great  meaning  to  the 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


39 


schools  of  our  state  if  it  is  properly  developed.  When  I  say  the  schools,  I 
mean  to  go  farther  than  that  and  include  the  pupils.  Our  work  must  be  for 
the  boys  and  girls  of  Kansas,  and  each  of  us  in  the  105  counties  of  the  state 
represent  from  3000  to  10,000  of  these  boys  and  girls.  .  .  .  “Tell  me 
what  you  eat,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  you  are,”  would  be  more  of  a  truth 
if  you  were  to  say,  “Tell  me  what  you  read,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  you 
are.”  If  you  find  a  boy  who  has  a  taste  for  nothing  but  the  vapid,  senti¬ 
mental  trash  that  is  poured  upon  the  public,  it  is  no  trouble  to  judge  of  the 
sort  of  character  he  is  building,  and  the  same  might  be  true  in  regard  to  the 
teachers'  reading  as  to  the  pupils’.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  talk  teachers' 
reading  circle,  because  all  the  time  I  am  thinking  of  the  pupils'  reading-cir¬ 
cle  work.  It  is  much  more  important  to  me  to  see  that  the  pupils  are  guided 
into  right  habits  of  reading.  It  seems  to  me  that  people  who  have  reached 
years  of  discretion  and  assumed  life’s  responsibilities  ought  to  be  capable  of 
selecting  their  reading-matter,  but  it  is  of  vast  importance  that  the  youth 
be  guided  aright. 

As  to  the  teachers’  reading-circle  work,  I  believe  that  if  we  had  a  graded 
course  of  some  kind,  with  a  two  or  three  years’  adoption  of  some  good  text 
on  a  given  subject,  and  made  that  the  basis  of  our  professional  work,  it 
would  be  very  desirable.  Our  present  set  of  books  is  a  good  one.  As  a 
member  of  the  reading-circle  board  I  believe  I  can  promise  you  that  we  are 
going  to  do  the  very  best  we  can  to  put  the  reading-circle  work  upon  a  basis 
that  will  mean  something  to  the  teachers  and  to  the  pupils  of  the  state,  and 
if  we  could  each  of  us,  as  county  superintendents,  realize  the  vast  import¬ 
ance  of  uniformity  of  action  in  this  reading-circle  work,  and  go  home  en¬ 
thused  with  the  idea  of  doing  all  that  we  could  in  this  direction,  I  am  sure 
that  we  would  get  results  from  it. 

We  have  discussed  the  reading-circle  work  at  each  of  our  county  associa¬ 
tions,  held  once  a  month,  and  some  of  the  teachers  do  very  good  work,  but 
it  is  always  the  teacher  that  really  needs  such  work  who  will  not  do  the 
work.  We  have  already  planned  for  the  coming  year  to  divide  our  county 
into  seven  districts,  have  one  general  meeting  of  our  county  association,  and 
later  have  each  district  meeting  on  the  same  day,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
the  high-school  principals.down  there  in  Jefferson  county,  who  are  very  loyal 
to  every  move  in  educational  matters,  and  who  have  promised  to  conduct 
these  seven  meetings  for  me  in  the  various  districts,  I  am  expecting  great 
things  to  be  accomplished.  I  expect  to  make  out  a  set  of  questions  for  re¬ 
view  on  each  of  the  reading-circle  books,  taking  so  much  for  each  meeting, 
and  giving  the  teachers  a  little  test,  have  it  written  and  returned  to  my 
office  and  kept  on  record  there.  Then  l  will  just  refer  the  school  boards  as 
to  whether  or  not  a  teacher  has  done  the  reading-circle  work  satisfactorily, 
to  the  files  there,  and  board  and  teacher  can  settle  the  matter  the  best  they 
can.  If  the  teacher’s  record  is  clear  there,  why,  all  right;  if  not,  it  is  be¬ 
tween  the  teacher  and  the  school  board.  I  do  not  expect  to  issue  a  certificate 
unless  the  reading-circle  work  is  done. 

Pupils ’  reading -circle  work.— I  believe  that  the  matter  of  libraries  in 
each  country  school  is  getting  down  closer  to  the  heart  and  home  life  of  the 
pupils  and  patrons  than  anything  else  we  can  do  for  the  school.  I  empha¬ 
size  this  matter  in  making  selections  for  the  pupils’  reading-circle  work. 
The  books  in  the  reading-circle  list  for  the  pupils  have  been  revised  and  re¬ 
vised,  and  any  objectionable  book  is  stricken  from  the  list  any  time  a  county 


40 


Proceedings  of 


superintendent  makes  objection  to  it.  The  list  is  already  made  out  for  the 
pupils,  and  we  have  taken  every  precaution  possible  and  believe  they  will 
nicely  supplement  the  Course  of  Study  in  geography,  history  of  the  United 
States,  and  nature  studies.  All  of  Crane’s  publications  in  regard  to  Kan¬ 
sas  are  included,  as  they  are  called  for  in  the  Course  of  Study,  and  would  be 
a  help  in  supplementing  the  Course  of  Study. 

The  discussion  on  this  subject  was  then  opened  by  Supt.  Mrs. 
Mary  H.  Kirby,  Osage  county,  who  spoke  as  follows: 

Carlyle  says,  “May  blessings  be  upon  the  head  of  Cadmus,  the  Phoeni¬ 
cians  or  whoever  it  was  that  invented  books.”  And  when  we  think  of  the 
ennobling  and  enriching  influence  of  the  world’s  best  books,  we  are  ready  to 
exclaim,  with  Channing,  “God  be  thanked  for  books;  they  are  the  voices  of 
the  distant  and  the  dead  and  make  us  spiritual  heirs  of  past  ages.”  Books 
are  the  true  levelers;  they  give  to  all  who  will  faithfully  use  them  the  society, 
the  spiritual  presence  of  the  best  and  greatest  of  our  race.  Said  an  eminent 
young  man  in  a  public  address,  “I  was  born  in  a  cabin— my  parents  were 
poor  people,  but  my  mother  left  me  a  priceless  legacy;  she  taught  me  to 
know  and  love  good  books. 

There  is  also  another  side  to  the  book  question.  Disraeli  has  informed  us 
that  ninety-nine  out  of  every  one  hundred  books  are  worse  than  worthless. 
The  world  is  full  of  pernicious  literature.  We  are  to  teach  the  child  mind 
to  discriminate  between  the  good  and  the  bad,  the  false  and  the  true— teach 
him  to  love  the  one  and  hate  the  other;  therefore  it  is  imperative  that  the 
child,  before  he  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  discretion,  should  have  some  one 
of  mature  judgment  select  his  books  and  decide  the  nature  of  his  reading- 
matter.  One  good  book  has  often  molded  a  life  and  decided  the  destiny  of 
an  immortal  soul.  The  greater  English  classics— the  Bible,  Shakespeare, 
Milton,  and  Bunyan— have  set  the  standard  and  molded  modern  English  lit¬ 
erature.  The  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  vulgar  tongue  hastened  the 
Reformation  and  foretokened  the  Renaissance. 

Environment  is  acknowledged  by  all  sociologists  to  have  far  greater 
weight  in  determining  the  future  career  of  an  individual  than  heredity. 
Chief  among  the  potent  factors  of  environment  is  the  reading-matter  by 
which  we  are  daily  surrounded.  A  child  may  have  refined,  Christian  parents 
and  a  home  in  which  good  taste  is  evidenced  on  every  hand,  but  if  all  his 
spare  moments  are  occupied  in  reading  detective  stories,  lives  of  pirates  and 
bandits,  or  even  the  milder  and  more  sentimental  love  stories  in  which  the 
magazines  and  papers  of  the  day  abound,  we  cannot  expect  much  of  the  boy. 

The  pupils’  reading  circle  board  has  a  great  mission  to  perform  in  the 
selecting  of  reading-matter  for  the  pupils  of  our  great  state.  They  should 
be  persons  of  most  excellent  judgment  and  good  taste— competent  to  select 
books  of  unquestioned  merit;  books  that  are  interesting  and  instructive; 
those  that  appeal  to  the  child  mind,  and  bring  forth  those  traits  of  character 
which  make  a  strong  man  or  woman. 

The  teachers’  reading-circle  books  should  also  receive  the  serious  and 
careful  attention  of  the  board.  Only  the  best  is  good  enough  for  us.  As  I 
look  back  over  my  own  experience  with  these  books,  I  find  that  I  shall 
always  cherish  some  of  them  as  near  and  dear  friends.  They  have  materi¬ 
ally  enriched  my  life.  Among  them  I  remember  Lecky’s  History  of  the 
American  Revolution,  Curtis’s  The  United  States  and  Foreign  Powers,  Hins- 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


41 


dale’s  Art  of  Study,  and  Bates’s  Talks  on  Literature.  Bates’s  definition  of 
a  classic  is  well  worth  the  price  of  the  book,  and  his  quotations  are  so  beau¬ 
tiful  and  well  selected  that  they  make  the  mind  to  ponder  and  the  heart  to 
glow.  ‘‘There  are  certain  writings  that  amid  all  the  multitudinous  d  strac- 
tions  of  practical  life,  amid  all  the  changes  of  custom,  belief  and  taste,  have 
continuously  pleased  and  moved  mankind,  and  to  these  we  give  the  name 
classics.” 

I  have  found  much  practical  common  sense  in  The  Social  Spirit  of  Amer¬ 
ica,  and  hope  that  it  will  be  the  means  of  diffusing  a  broad  philanthropic 
spirit  among  the  educators  of  our  state.  Among  the  many  political  prob¬ 
lems  we  should  work  for  are  mentioned,  a  more  charitable  spirit  between 
employers  and  the  employed;  the  English  Cooperative  system  of  mercantile 
houses;  selection  of  the  best  officers  in  municipal  and  educational  positions, 
regardless  of  party  affiliations;  the  German  system  of  money  loans;  the 
initiative  and  the  referendum.  Among  social  evils  to  be  remedied  are  men¬ 
tioned  child  labor,  sweat-shops,  slum  life,  and  other  kindred  evils.  While 
not  trying  to  throw  any  particular  bouquets  at  the  present  reading-circle 
board,  I  also  wish  to  mention  our  pedagogics,  Common  Sense  Didactics,  by 
Henry  Sabin,  full  of  most  excellent  suggestions  to  teachers.  I  am  especially 
pleased  with  the  emphasis  which  he  places  upon  the  idea  that  the  teacher 
should  save  all  his  latent  energy  to  be  expended  during  the  hours  he  comes 
in  direct  contact  with  his  pupils,  condemning  the  habit  of  going  to  the  school¬ 
room  at  eight  o’clock  to  prepare  the  work  for  the  day  and  staying  till  five 
o’clock  in  the  evening  to  make  the  idle  pupils  get  their  lessons,  when  they 
should  have  been  compelled  to  get  them  at  the  proper  time.  Also,  the  car¬ 
rying  home  of  long,  tedious  manuscripts  to  grade,  depriving  themselves  of 
proper  sleep  and  exercise.  Every  teacher  should  have  proper  rest,  recrea¬ 
tion  and  diet. 

Reading  circles  should  be  organized  in  as  many  centers  as  possible;  the 
work  should  be  outlined,  and  questions  sent  out  from  the  office  at  proper  in¬ 
tervals.  Anything  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well,  and  we’ll  never 
be  able  to  eclipse  the  Socratic  method  of  the  skilful  use  of  questions. 

A  good  book  in  pedagogy,  it  seems  to  me,  might  be  retained  two  years, 
thus  giving  us  during  the  time  three  works  of  a  literary  or  historical  nature. 

The  rapid  succession  of  pedagogical  works  is  sometimes  confusing.  They 
require  more  intense  study  than  other  books,  and  are  more  readily  forgotten. 

I  hope  that  we  shall  have  excellent  results  from  the  present  course,  and 
expect  to  do  my  part  toward  making  the  work  a  success  in  Osage  county. 

FORENOON  SESSION,  AUGUST  29. 

This  meeting  opened  at  7:45  A.  M.,  with  a  general  discussion  of 
“Consolidation,”  by  Supt.  L.  W.  Nutter,  Republic  county,  who 
said: 

There  are  many  great  and  important  questions  concerning  our  public- 
school  system  of  to-day  I  might  mention  many  of  them,  but  let  it  suffice 
to  say  that  the  greatest  of  all  these  is  the  consolidation  of  our  rural  schools. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  educational  system  in  our  public  schools  is  keep¬ 
ing  up  with  the  commercial  world  in  progress.  It  is  true  that  in  many 
cases,  as  when  the  building  becomes  totally  unfit  for  use,  bonds  are  voted 
and  another  school  building  somewhat  better  than  the  old  one  is  erected. 


42 


Proceedings  of 


I  do  believe  that  the  boys  and  girls  in  our  country  schools  have  the  same 
rights  and  are  entitled  to  as  good  schooling  and  as  much  refinement  as  the 
boys  and  girls  in  the  city— seven  months  for  the  country  schools  and  nine 
for  the  city  schools. 

What  I  may  say  to-day  is  not  intended  to  revolutionize  our  school  sys¬ 
tem.  In  fact  I  am  in  doubt  whether  or  not  it  will  do  any  good  at  all.  I  am 
not  here  to  convert  you.  I  am  sure  that  you  already  agree  with  me,  in  the 
main  points,  at  least. 

There  is  only  one  way  that  this  meeting  can  bring  forth  any  good.  That 
is  for  each  of  you  to  go  home  and  instill  into  the  people  of  your  county  the 
necessity  of  consolidation.  It  is  my  wish  that  each  county  superintendent 
in  the  state  may  hold  at  least  two  meetings  during  the  year  for  the  purpose 
of  discussing  this  subject.  Use  it  as  one  of  the  leading  topics  for  use  at 
your  teachers’  associations.  There  is  not  one  of  you  that  is  not  able  to  get 
out  into  the  districts  and  show  beyond  doubt  that  three  or  more  districts 
may  unite  and  be  carried  on  at  very  nearly  the  same  cost  on  the  average 
attendance  as  before.  Another  way  to  get  this  matter  before  the  people  is 
through  the  newspapers.  Gat  the  editor  interested  in  the  matter.  He  will 
help  you,  and  will  be  glad  to  do  so.  For  next  to  the  minister  and  the  school¬ 
teacher,  in  doing  good,  is  the  editor. 

The  reason  cities  have  better  schools  is  because  they  pay  for  them.  I 
wish  to  show  you  what  the  city  of  Belleville  is  doing  for  her  school  children, 
and  see  if  you  think  that  the  farmer  is  sacrificing  very  much  or  being  im¬ 
posed  upon  when  he  has  to  pay  from  ten  to  twenty  mills  to  help  maintain  a 
school.  Last  year  Belleville  voted  twenty  mills  for  running  expenses.  They 
voted  four  mills  with  which  to  pay  on  the  $5'J0)  bonds  they  owe.  And  in 
addition  to  all  this,  a  few  months  ago  they  voted  $10,000  with  which  to  erect 
a  new  school  building. 

I  will  offer  you  consolidation  as  a  remedy  for  many  of  the  evils,  many  of 
the  drawbacks,  and  many  of  the  shortcomings  of  our  school  system. 

I  will  read  you  from  the  annual  report  of  1902  of  the  Department  of  Edu¬ 
cation,  and  then  from  the  one  of  1904: 

“While  this  movement  of  consolidation  has  spread  to  all  parts  of  the 
country,  it  is  only  in  a  few  localities  in  any  state  that  the  system  has  been 
adopted,  and  in  fewer  still  that  it  has  been  a  settled  policy.  Generally,  it 
is  in  the  experimental  stage.  The  practical  working  of  systems  of  central¬ 
ized  schools,  wherever  they  have  been  established,  is  being  watched  with 
more  than  ord  nary  interest  by  school  officials  in  nearly  all  sections  of  the 
Union  as  furnishing  a  possible  solution  of  the  problems  of  improved  rural 
schools.  There  is  a  natural  reluctance  on  their  part  to  enter  upon  any  far- 
reaching  changes  whose  wisdom  has  not  been  practically  demonstrated  by 
examples  and  object  lessons  in  their  immediate  neighborhood,  and  under 
similar  conditions,”  etc. 

“As  a  further  evidence  that  centralization  is  here  to  stay,  attention 
should  be  called  to  the  fact  that,  while  Gustavus  was  the  first  township  in 
this  county  to  adopt  this  system,  since  we  have  adopted  it  every  township 
adjoining  us  has  adopted  it,  and  at  the  present  time  has  in  operation  similar 
schools.  Those  who  are  nearest  to  us  seem  to  be  most  favorably  impressed 
with  its  benefits.” 

In  the  report  of  1904  the  growth  has  been  so  great  that  the  result  of  the 
saving  has  been  given.  From  this  report  you  will  see  that  from  one-fourth 
to  one- third  is  saved  : 

“In  New  Hampshire  the  cost  is  less  in  118  towns,  the  same  in  5,  and 
more  in  1.  In  Massachusetts  the  cost  (after  consolidation)  was  less  in  68 


County  Superintendent  s'  Meeting. 


43 


per  cent,  of  the  towns,  more  in  16  per  cent.,  and  the  same  in  15  per  cent. 
The  amount  saved  was  $132  in  regular  teachers’  wages,  though  salaries  in¬ 
creased  from  five  to  nine  dollars  a  week,  and  the  term  from  twenty-four  to 
thirty-six  weeks.” 

Indiana  is  given  mostly  by  counties  and  shows  a  gain  of  from  one  to  four 
dollars  per  day,  in  many  cases  the  cost  being  reduced  to  one-half.  If  these 
cases  are  true,  and  they  certainly  are  or  the  United  States  government  re¬ 
port  would  not  give  them,  why  should  we  be  afraid  or  hesitate  to  do  our  best 
to  bring  about  consolidation? 

You  are  all  well  enough  acquainted  with  the  system  to  know  that  it  would 
be  no  experiment.  The  system  is  now  in  use  in  most  of  the  states,  many 
such  schools  being  in  the  state  of  Kansas.  I  am  pleased  to  know  that  you 
are  to  hear  directly  from  those  who  are  ready  to  speak  to  you  from  actual 
experience  and  to  tell  you  just  exactly  how  they  work.  As  a  result  of  con¬ 
solidation  in  Indiana  700  of  the  small  schools  have  been  abandoned  since  the 
consolidation  of  schools  began.  These  schools  have  given  way  to  280  larger 
consolidated  districts.  Out  of  91  counties  reporting,  43  indorse  it;  9  are 
against  it;  and  39  have  not  sufficiently  experimented  to  give  in  a  decision. 
An  average  of  8312  children  were  transported  daily,  at  an  average  cost  of 
about  eleven  cents  each. 

I  believe  that  the  law  governing  consolidation  is  very  good  as  it  is.  But 
I  believe  that  it  could  be  made  a  great  deal  better.  It  should  be  changed 
from  a  local-option  to  a  general  law  providing  for  consolidation  under  cer¬ 
tain  conditions;  that  whenever  certain  specified  conditions  exist  in  a  district 
it  should  be  the  duty  of  the  proper  authorities  to  establish  a  consolidated 
school.  I  am  aware  that  you  will  n  >t  all  agree  with  me  on  this  point.  You 
will  say  that  this  is  taking  the  matter  out  of  the  hands  of  the  people.  Some 
states  have  what  they  call  local  option,  while  we  have  a  general  law.  Why 
not  have  a  general  law  in  this  case  ?  If  it  is  fair  in  one  case  it  is  fair  in  the 
other. 

It  is  merely  a  business  proposition.  What  causes  capital  to  unite?  Why 
is  it  that  our  smaller  firms  are  not  able  to  compete  successfully  with  our 
larger  ones?  We  say  that  in  unity  there  is  strength.  I  believe  that  this  is 
true  in  the  school  system  as  it  is  in  anything  else. 

If  in  1902  we  were  waiting  for  results,  why  wait  any  longer?  The  re¬ 
sults  are  now  spread  out  before  us.  If  it  is  wise  for  business  firms  to  con¬ 
solidate.  why  is  it  not  a  paying  proposition  for  schools  to  unite? 

Some  will  tell  you  that  the  reason  the  students  from  the  country  rank  so 
well  in  our  schools  and  colleges  is  due  to  their  country  schooling.  You  all 
know  better  than  that.  I  say  it  is  in  spite  of  their  country  schooling.  Keep 
them  on  the  farm  and  give  them  the  advantage  of  the  graded  system  and 
we  will  show  you  that  they  are  still  at  the  beginning  of  the  progress  they 
are  capable  of  making.  We  wish  to  bring  to  the  boys  and  girls  of  the 
country  such  schools  as  they  have  in  the  city,  and  still  keep  them  on  the  farm. 

From  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age  is  when  most  of  the  country  gradu¬ 
ates  finish  their  common-school  course.  Theoretically  it  seems  best  for 
them  to  go  to  school  the  next  year  and  review  the  same  subjects.  But  ev¬ 
ery  one  of  you  knows  that  after  a  student  graduates  from  a  school  he 
throws  away  his  time  if  he  takes  the  same  studies  at  the  same  school  a  5-ec- 
ond  time.  They  do  not  have  the  same  interest  in  it  that  they  manifested 
when  they  had  an  object  in  view.  You  may  ask  why  the  parents  do  not 


44 


Proceedings  of 


send  them  away  to  school  or  college.  I  will  tell  you.  They  wish  to  keep 
them  with  them  as  long  as  possible.  Therefore,  the  student  will,  for  three 
or  four  years,  either  go  to  school  and  take  up  the  same  work  of  the  pre¬ 
vious  year  or  will  go  only  a  few  months  each  term  and  receive  very  little 
benefit. 

We  claim  that  through  consolidation  we  are  going  to  take  the  school  to 
the  pupils  instead  of  having  them  come  to  the  school.  What  parent  wishes 
to  start  his  twelve-  or  fifteen-year-old  boy  or  girl  away  to  begin  a  four-  or 
five-years  course  in  some  college?  They  are  not  old  enough  at  this  time. 
Let  the  environments  be  the  best  that  any  school  or  college  can  furnish,  and 
who  will  dare  to  say  that  it  compares  for  one  single  moment  with  the  gen¬ 
tle  and  loving  influence  of  home  life? 

I  wish  to  mention  a  few  advantages  that  are  to  come  from  the  consolida¬ 
tion  of  schools. 

One  teacher  says  that  it  is  not  so  much  a  means  of  saving  money  as  it  is 
for  getting  more  for  your  money. 

It  increases  the  average  attendance. 

It  furnishes  us  a  better  school  in  which  to  teach  the  subject  of  agricul¬ 
ture. 

It  gives  and  maintains  better  schools. 

It  gives  the  country  student  as  good  a  school  as  the  city  student  has, 
and  yet  leaves  to  him  the  advantages  of  country  life. 

It  allows  the  boys  and  girls  to  remain  at  home  with  their  parents  from 
two  to  four  years  longer  and  still  receive  the  required  education. 

It  places  a  high-school  education  within  the  reach  of  all. 

It  makes  their  average  education  a  ten-years  education  instead  of  an  eight- 
years  one. 

It  establishes  a  larger  social  center. 

It  makes  a  community  in  which  church,  Sunday-school  and  literary  en¬ 
tertainments  may  be  held. 

Supt.  W.  S.  Higgs.  Rice  county,  then  discussed  the  sub-topic, 
“A  Statement  of  the  Enrolment  Before  and  After  Consolidation  in 
Rice  County,  and  a  Comparison  of  Cost  per  Capita,”  as  follows: 

There  are  three  consolidated  schools  in  Rice  county,  designated  as  Union 
2,  Union  3,  and  Union  4. 

Unions  3  and  4  were  the  first  to  organize,  June  19,  1903.  Union  3  (Chase) 
already  had  a  school  building  of  three  rooms,  which  accommodated  all  the 
pupils  of  that  district,  consolidation  adding  only  about  fifteen  pupils  to  that 
school.  Chase  is  a  town  of  about  225  people.  Union  3  contemplates  build¬ 
ing  a  new  school  building  in  the  near  future. 

Union  4  is  an  entirely  rural  district.  This  district  at  first  moved  two  of 
their  old  schoolhouses  together  and  fixed  them  up  and  used  them  tempora¬ 
rily,  until  last  fall,  when  the  people  built  a  fine,  up-to-date  building,  costing 
for  everything  about  $5000. 

Union  2  was  organized  May  24,  1905.  Only  three  districts  were  disorgan¬ 
ized,  and  all  large  schools.  A  fine,  new  school  building  was  built,  also  barns 
and  sheds  for  horses  and  wagons,  costing  when  completed  $4500. 

The  three  consolidated  schools  were  composed  of  ten  districts,  which  were 
disorganized  in  1903  and  1905  respectively.  The  year  before  consolidation 
the  census  enrolment  for  the  ten  districts  was  301;  enrolment  in  school,  258; 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting. 


45 


average  daily  attendance,  187;  cost  of  maintaining  the  schools,  $4149;  cost 
per  capita,  $22.20;  average  levy,  13.6  mills. 

AFTER  CONSOLIDATION. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  three  consolidated  schools  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1907,  are  as  follows:  Census  enrolment,  297;  enrolled  in  school,  272; 
average  attendance,  217;  cost  of  maintaining  schools,  $5283,  cost  per  capita, 
$24.34;  levy,  20  mills. 

Before  consolidation  nine  teachers  were  employed  (district  18  had  but  five 
pupils  and  sent  to  Chase  for  several  years)  and  received  an  average  salary 
of  $41.  Seven  teachers  now  do  the  work  and  receive  an  average  salary  of 
$54.65. 

The  cost  of  transportation  last  year  was,  approximately,  $1.50  per  month 
per  pupil.  The  pupils  are  conveyed  in  enclosed  wagons,  which  are  furnished 
with  sheet-iron  stoves,  and  it  is  no  trouble  to  keep  the  children  comfortable. 
In  a  few  instances  the  board  have  arranged  with  isolated  families  to  furnish 
their  own  conveyance. 

A  COMPARISON  OF  THE  WORK  DONE. 

Last  year  there  were  143  graduates  from  the  common  schools  in  Rice 
county.  Of  this  number  the  graded  schools  of  the  county,  of  which  there 
were  eight,  furnished  68,  leaving  75  for  the  district  schools  and  the  three 
consolidated  schools.  Of  the  district  schools,  45  of  the  number  turned  out 
42  graduates,  and  the  three  consolidated  schools  33. 

Of  the  union  schools  58  were  on  examination,  and  33  passed  with  a  gen¬ 
eral  average  of  85.7  per  cent.  Of  the  district  schools  90  were  on  examina¬ 
tion,  and  42  passed  with  a  general  average  of  83.9  per  cent. 

The  per  cent,  of  attendance,  etc. ,  of  the  ten  districts  consolidated  for  the 
year  preceding  consolidation  and  the  year  following: 

Before  consolidation:  Per  cent,  of  census  enrolled,  85;  per  cent,  of  en¬ 
rolment  attending,  72;  per  cent,  of  census  attending,  62. 

After  consolidation:  Per  cent,  of  census  enrolled,  91;  per  cent,  of  enrol¬ 
ment  attending,  80;  per  cent,  of  census  attending,  73. 

Area  of  districts:  Union  2,  twenty-three  square  miles;  Union  3,  twenty 
square  miles;  Union  4,  twenty- eight  square  miles. 

The  routes  vary  in  length  from  five  to  nine  miles,  but  few  of  the  pupils 
ride  over  five  miles. 

Pupils  have  their  regular  seats  in  the  wagons  and  are  directly  in  charge 
of  the  driver  who  is  responsible  to  the  principal  and  board  for  their  conduct, 
and  so  far  as  I  can  learn  but  very  little  trouble  arises  about  the  conduct. 

There  is  practically  no  tardiness  made  by  pupils  who  are  transported. 

SUCCESS  OF  CONSOLIDATION. 

Consolidation  of  rural  schools  is  a  success,  because  of  the  better  results 
secured.  The  attendance  is  greatly  increased,  and  I  think  upon  investiga¬ 
tion  the  same  is  true  in  other  places. 

It  does  away  with  tardiness,  and  so  far  as  I  know  not  one  of  the  wagons 
has  ever  been  late.  The  increased  number  of  pupils  in  the  classes  increases 
the  interest  and  better  work  is  done.  Because  of  fewer  classes  longer  time 
is  secured  for  recitations  and  the  result  is  more  thorough  work.  Children 
go  to  school  with  comfort  in  bad  weather.  Habits  of  regularity  and  punctu¬ 
ality  are  inculcated— no  small  part  of  a  proper  education.  The  opportunity 


46 


Proceedings  of 


of  the  bully  to  impose  upon  smaller  children  on  the  way  to  and  from  school 
is  taken  away.  As  a  rule  the  best  teachers  are  in  the  graded  schools,  be¬ 
sides  it  makes  close  and  better  supervision  possible. 

The  troublesome  question  to  be  met  in  consolidation  is  that  of  transporta¬ 
tion.  Yet,  I  believe  that  the  problem  can  be  satisfactorily  solved.  I  have 
talked  with  some  who  opposed  consolidation,  and  after  having  given  it  a 
trial  they  are  loud  in  their  praise  of  the  results  obtained,  and  not  one  is 
willing  to  go  back  to  the  old  way.  I  am  planning  to  have  a  meeting  of  school- 
district  officers  sometime  this  fall,  when  one  of  the  subjects  to  be  discussed 
will  be  “consolidation.”  I  shall  endeavor  to  have  some  one  who  lives  in  a 
consolidated  district,  and  who  is  able  to  handle  the  subject  thoroughly,  to 
talk  on  the  transportation  phase  of  the  subject. 

In  fact,  I  am  looking  forward  to  that  meeting  with  a  hope  that  the  su¬ 
perintendent  and  district  officers  will  be  more  in  sympathy  on  all  questions 
which  are  of  vital  interest  to  our  public  schools. 

Supt.  P.  D.  Scott,  Osborne  county,  gave  “A  Review  of  ConHoli- 
dation  in  Osborne  County  and  a  Statement  of  the  Transportation 
Problem  as  They  Find  It.”  He  said,  in  part : 

Consolidation  in  Osborne  county  as  it  is  to-day  does  not  mean  nearly  so 
much  as  it  does  in  some  other  counties.  In  Osborne  it  means  the  con¬ 
solidation  or  formation  of  but  one  district.  We  have  had  better  success 
in  forming  consolidated  districts  with  adjoining  counties  than  in  our  own. 
In  the  formation  of  the  consolidated  district  of  which  I  shall  speak  Smith 
county  is  a  factor.  We  are  now  forming  another  one  in  which  Russell 
county  will  be  a  factor.  I  believe  consolidation  is  the  solution  of  a  great 
many  questions  that  we  have  been  considering  since  we  met  here  yesterday. 
I  am  glad  that  Mr..  Fairchild  gave  this  an  important  place  upon  the  pro¬ 
gram,  because  I  think  it  is,  of  all  things  we  have  discussed,  the  most  im¬ 
portant. 

In  June,  1905,  district  No.  19  of  Smith  county,  embracing  six  sections, 
districts  Nos.  19  and  27,  Osborne  county,  embracing  altogether  nine  sec¬ 
tions,  voted  to  form  a  consolidated  district,  so  that  the  district  now  com¬ 
prises  fifteen  sections.  The  district  now  has  a  valuation  of  $100,000.  The 
people  were  very  enthusiastic  over  the  consolidation.  It  seemed  to  stir  up 
enthusiasm  in  school  matters  wonderfully. 

After  consolidation  the  people  concluded  they  needed  a  new  schoolhouse, 
aud  at  an  expense  of  $6000  erected  a  nice  four-room  building.  Consolida¬ 
tion  has  certainly  brought  about  a  great  interest  in  school  matters  in  this 
portion  of  the  county.  At  first  there  was  some  opposition  from  those  who 
lived  some  distance  from  the  building.  Now  that  they  see  the  advantages 
there  is  no  longer  further  criticism.  The  enrolment  last  year  was  157.  You 
know  what  that  means  in  the  way  of  interest,  both  in  the  grades  and  in  the 
high-school  work.  They  are  also  establishing  a  high-school  course  of  three 
years— one  teacher  and  one  assistant. 

Another  district  in  our  county,  though  not  consolidated,  but  containing 
eighteen  sections,  transports  its  children.  The  longest  distance  traveled  was 
three  and  three-fourths  miles.  The  carrier  makes  a  certain  point  desig¬ 
nated  at  a  certain  hour,  and  all  pupils  to  be  transported  meet  at  that  point, 
and  they  are  returned  to  the  same  point  in  the  evening.  There  are,  of 
course,  some  objections  to  this  plan.  The  cost  per  month  in  this  case  was 


County  Superintendents'  Meeting. 


47 


$22  50.  A  distinct  advantage  that  grew  out  of  this  transportation  was  the 
greater  regularity  in  attendance. 

In  district  No.  19,  a  portion  of  the  consolidated  district  first  mentioned, 
the  pupils  are  not  hauled  by  the  district.  The  longest  distance  traveled  is 
four  and  three-fourths  miles.  The  board  has  built  a  pretty  fair  barn  on 
the  school  grounds,  provided  ample  room  for  horses,  and  those  who  live  in 
distant  parts  of  the  district  drive  their  own  rigs,  put  their  horses  up  in  the 
barn,  and  return  home  in  the  evening. 

From  everything  that  I  have  been  able  to  observe  in  my  own  county  I 
heartily  indorse  the  plan  of  consolidation.  I  expect  to  hold  this  winter  as 
many  township  meetings  throughout  the  county  as  I  can.  At  these  times, 
I  shall  do  my  best  to  talk  consolidation. 

Supt.  James  A.  Ray.  Marion  county,  then  took  up  the  subtopic, 
“How  Consolidation  is  Viewed  in  Marion  County,  and  What  it 
Has  Done  for  the  Districts  Concerned,”  as  follows  : 

Our  consolidated  school  is  located  at  Burns,  a  small  but  enterprising 
little  town  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  county.  It  is  a  consolidation  of 
five  districts,  three  of  Marion  county  and  two  of  Butler  county.  The  school 
has  now  been  in  operation  for  three  years.  Two  years  ago  a  $9,000  school- 
house  was  erected  and  equipped  with  the  most  modern  apparatus.  A  four- 
year  high-school  course  has  been  added,  and  six  teachers  are  employed, 
including  a  special  teacher  of  music. 

The  enrolment  last  year  reached  206  pupils.  Thirty  six  of  this  number 
were  enrolled  in  the  high  school,  and  I  am  informed  that  the  enrolment  in 
the  high  school  this  year  will  reach  at  least  fifty,  and  that  a  large  majority 
of  this  number  are  boys  and  girls  who  live  on  the  farm.  This,  it  seems  to 
me,  demonstrates  that  the  people  of  our  rural  communities  will  give  their 
boys  and  girls  a  high-school  education  if  the  high  school  is  brought  to  them. 

Five  wagons  are  used  to  transport  the  pupils  to  and  from  school.  These 
wagons  are  constructed  especially  for  this  purpose  and  are  as  comfortable 
and  convenient  as  can  be  made.  In  severe  winter  weather  they  are  tightly 
covered,  the  beds  and  sides  are  heavily  padded,  and  arrangements  are  made 
for  putting  in  an  oil-stove.  In  short,  everything  is  done  that  can  be  done 
to  keep  the  children  from  suffering  from  the  effects  of  cold  weather.  Each 
wagon  is  constructed  to  hold  about  twenty  children.  Most  of  the  wagons 
are  driven  by  high-school  boys,  and  the  routes  are  so  planned  that  no  wagon 
has  to  be  driven  more  than  six  and  one-half  miles.  The  cost  varies  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  distance  driven. .  It  is  all  the  way  from  twenty  dollars  to  thirty 
dollars,  the  last-named  amount  being  the  highest  price  paid  for  any  wagon. 
The  driver  is  made  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  pupils  in  the  wagon, 
and  if  there  should  be  misconduct  of  any  kind  on  the  way  to  and  from  school, 
the  driver  reports  it  to  the  teacher  of  said  children.  As  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  ascertain,  there  has  not  as  yet  been  the  slightest  objection  raised  to 
the  mode  of  transportation,  by  a  single  patron.  Every  one  seems  to  be 
perfectly  satisfied  with  it.  I  am  told  that  so  far  but  one  wagon  has  been 
tardy,  and  that  was  because  of  the  lameness  of  one  of  the  horses. 

Statistics  not  only  show  that  the  average  daily  attendance  is  at  least 
twenty  per  cent,  better  than  it  was  under  the  old  system,  but  also  show  that 
tardiness  has  been  diminished  at  least  forty  per  cent. 

The  cost  so  far  is  a  little  more  under  this  system  than  it  was  under  the 


48 


Proceedings  of 


old  system.  Under  the  old  system,  the  average  levy  for  the  year  1903  was 
fourteen  mills.  Under  this  it  has  required  a  levy  each  year  of  twenty-four 
mills.  However,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge,  there  has  been  no  objection 
made  by  any  one  to  the  extra  cost.  I  have  been  over  a  greater  part  of  the 
district,  and  I  failed  to  find  a  person  who  wanted  to  go  back  to  the  old  sys¬ 
tem. 

As  to  what  consolidation  has  done  for  the  districts  concerned,  may  be 
summed  up  as  follows:  It  has  given  them  a  good  graded  school  with  close 
supervision ;  it  has  given  them  a  large,  modern,  commodious  school  build¬ 
ing,  well  equipped  with  good  apparatus,  well  ventilated,  and  steam  heated; 
it  has  given  them  a  good  high-school  course  at  home,  and  without  additional 
cost;  it  has  given  them  the  advantage  of  a  special  teacher  of  music.  A 
manual-training  room  has  been  provided  for;  also  a  gymnasium.  It  has  in¬ 
creased  the  average  daily  attendance  twenty  per  cent.;  it  has  diminished 
tardiness  forty  per  cent. ;  it  has  given  them  more  efficient  teachers  and  a 
longer  term  of  school;  it  is  an  advantage  to  the  health  of  the  children.  And 
I  am  told  on  good  authority  that  the  price  of  land  has  materially  increased 
since  the  organization  of  the  school. 

The  consolidated  district  has  a  valuation  of  $219,651. 

The  success  of  this  school  is  working  a  revolution  for  consolidation  in 
other  communities  of  the  county.  School  boards  from  other  districts  have 
visited  the  Burns  school,  and  those  of  them  who  were  against  consolidation 
before  were  converted  to  it.  We  expect  to  organize,  before  the  year  is 
over,  at  least  three  consolidated  schools 

Supt.  W.  E.  Hagy,  Ellsworth  county,  then  discussed  the  sub- 
topic,  “What  the  High  Schools  of  our  Consolidated  Schools  have 
Accomplished  in  Ellsworth  County,”  as  fullows: 

We  have  in  Ellsworth  county  a  consolidated  school  that  has  many  ele¬ 
ments  of  strength,  especially  from  a  financial  point  of  view.  The  district 
includes  an  area  of  25£  sections  of  land,  including  a  small  village,  and  has 
an  assessed  valuation  of  $63,000.  We  have  never  levied  more  than  fifteen 
mills  for  the  maintenance  of  the  school.  The  attendance  at  this  school  runs 
from  100  to  120.  It  is  certainly  much  better  than  under  the  old  system. 

Another  great  advantage  is  that  of  better  supervision;  and  last,  but  not 
least,  is  the  better  school  spirit  that  prevails  in  the  district,  and  in  this 
respect  it  is  very  different  from  the  single  system. 

In  this  district  there  are  always  from  ten  to  fifteen  who  finish  the  com¬ 
mon-school  course,  and  this  is  quite  a  per  cent,  in  excess  of  the  number  that 
will  finish  under  the  single-district  system.  The  reason  for  this  is  probably 
the  inducement  that  offers  to  enter  the  high  school  in  the  same  building.  In 
the  high  school  there  are  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  pupils.  Every  year 
we  have  from  two  to  four  graduates.  This  school  maintains  a  three-years 
course.  It  provides  for  three  years  of  German,  this  being  in  a  German  com¬ 
munity  ;  has  three  years  of  English,  with  algebra,  geometry,  and  a  number 
of  the  sciences. 

A  large  number  of  those  who  have  graduated  from  this  high  school  have 
entered  some  higher  school  of  learning.  This  is  a  matter  of  great  pride  to 
the  copimunity.  I  am  certain  that  if  the  single-district  plan  had  prevailed 
but  few  of  those  would  have  taken  courses  in  higher  institutions  of  learn- 


County  Superintendents1  Meeting.  49 

ing.  The  people  of  this  district  pride  themselves  very  much  upon  their 
schools. 

In  answer  to  a  question,  Superintendent  Hagy  stated  that  before 
consolidation  they  had  an  average  of  six  and  two-thirds  months. 
Now  an  eight-months  term  prevails. 

In  reply  to  a  question  as  to  whether  the  wagons  go  by  every 
house,  Superintendent  Ray  said:  “As  far  as  our  county  is  con¬ 
cerned  the  wagons  go  to  every  house.  Those  families  that  trans¬ 
port  their  own  children  live  off  the  road  and  the  patrons  are  paid 
for  the  transportation.” 

Superintendent  Hagy  further  said:  “Last  winter  the  people 
adopted  a  different  method  of  transportation  of  pupils.  They  sim¬ 
ply  paid  the  parents  fifteen  cents  per  day  for  the  transportation  of 
their  own  children.  They  told  me  it  is  cheaper  to  haul  their  own 
children  than  to  hire  a  wagon.  A  large  per  cent,  of  the  children 
live  within  the  two-mile  limit  of  the  school.” 

At  th is  point  State  Superintendent  Fairchild  stated  that  it  is 
his  intention  to  get  out  a  pamphlet  on  the  subject  of  consolidation, 
containing  all  the  information  that  Kansas  can  furnish,  and  that  it 
will  be  sent  out  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 

Superintendent  Codding  suggested  that  the  telephone  is  solving 
the  question  of  transportation,  the  driver  being  able  to  telephone 
ahead  from  different  points  along  the  route. 

Mr.  MacDonald  said  that  the  greatest  obstacle  in  the  path  of 
consolidation  in  Shawnee  county  is  selfishness.  Several  districts 
would  like  to  unite,  but  each  wants  the  schoolhouse. 

Superintendent  Nixon,  Greenwood  county,  suggested  that  con¬ 
solidation  is  not  always  practicable  in  thinly  settled  districts.  Mr. 
Fairchild  replied  to  this  by  saying: 

Let  us  be  practical;  let  us  not  attempt  to  bring  about  consolidation  where 
it  may  not  be  wisely  and  reasonably  done. 

As  I  said  before,  let  us  be  practical.  There  are,  however,  attempts  in 
operation  now,  for  instance,  in  Rooks  county.  There  was  a  very  careful 
and  elaborate  effort  made  by  which  all  the  schools  of  a  township  were  to  be 
brought  under  one  system.  The  final  issue  was  unfavorable,  owing  to  the 
disposition  of  one  district;  but  the  scheme  is  on  again;  they  are  trying  it 
out,  and  sooner  or  later  they  are  bound  to  succeed.  We  have  districts  that 
are  very  much  lirger  than  some  of  these  of  which  I  have  been  speaking, 
but  I  still  think  perhaps  that  does  not  serve  as  an  objection  in  any  way. 

Superintendent  Nutter,  of  Republic  county,  further  said: 

I  believe  we  should  discuss  the  problem  Mr.  MacDonald  raised— the  loca¬ 
tion  of  the  schoolhouse.  While  we  cannot  overcome  that  objection  entirely, 
yet  I  would  not  let  that  be  the  first  issue.  I  would  have  them  vote  on  the 
question  of  consolidation,  after  that  has  been  discussed  thoroughly,  and  let 
-4 


50 


Proceedings  of 


them  settle  at  a  later  meeting  the  question  of  the  location  of  the  school- 
house.  I  do  not  attach  much  importance  to  the  objection  raised  by  our 
friend  here.  My  experience  is  that  the  location  is  not  a  serious  point;  that 
the  good  sense  of  the  district  will  arrange  that,  and  take  care  that  it  is  cen¬ 
trally  located.  That  the  great  problem  is  not,  perhaps,  so  much  the  location 
of  the  schoolhouse  as  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  public  from  the  high 
school,  college  and  university  back  to  the  common  school  itself.  If  we  can 
get  the  people  of  the  state  to  take  up  and  study  the  real  situation  and  the 
condition  of  the  common  school,  I  am  satisfied  that  we  will  be  able  to  get 
the  people  to  take  hold  of  this  problem  as  never  before. 

Ex-State  Superintendent  Winans  said: 

Mr.  Superintendent ,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen;  I  am  very  much  pleased 
at  the  plainly  apparent  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  consolidation  of  the 
country  schools  of  the  state  that  is  manifest  here  this  morning.  I  believe 
that  among  the  important  subjects  that  you  superintendents  are  discussing 
at  this  moment,  the  one  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  children  of  this 
state  is  consolidation,  though  we  must  admit  that  in  certain  localities  it  is 
not  altogether  practicable  at  this  time.  We  must  also  admit  that  selfish¬ 
ness  will  be  a  deterring  influence  in  many  counties.  We  have  had  the  dis¬ 
trict-school  system  in  this  state  for  more  than  forty-five  years  (since  186L), 
and  the  sentiment  that  prevails  among  the  people  on  account  of  the  influence 
of  the  little  red  schoolhouse  has  led  the  people  to  believe  that  we  have  just 
about  the  finest  system  of  public  schools  to  be  found  anywhere.  This  is  not 
true.  We  never  will  have  until  the  public  schools  of  the  state  are  consoli¬ 
dated.  We  must  lead  the  people  of  the  state  to  see  that  their  schools  may 
be  better,  ought  to  be  better,  and  can  be  better ;  and  perhaps  I  ought  to 
say  that  while  these  consolidated  schools  may  cost  a  little  more,  they  will 
cost  not  so  much  when  the  aggregate  daily  attendance,  principalship  super¬ 
vision,  promotions  and  work  done— when  all  these  very  essential  things  are 
taken  into  consideration.  If  they  can  be  led  to  see  that  they  can  get  better 
schools,  that  they  need  better  schools,  and  that  the  only  way  to  get  them  is 
by  paying  for  them ;  can  be  led  to  see  that  they  would  better  devote  a  part 
of  their  wealth  to  educating  their  children,  they  will  be  in  favor  of  better 
schools. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  a  year  ago  to  work  for  a  month  with  500  or  600 
of  the  teachers  of  the  state  of  Louisiana.  Some  300  of  their  district  super¬ 
intendents  and  representatives  of  the  school  boards  were  in  session,  and  the 
subject  of  consolidation  was  thoroughly  discussed;  indeed,  it  has  taken  a 
strong  hold  on  the  people  of  Louisiana.  We  have  as  good  schoolhouses  in 
the  state  of  Kansas,  as  well  located,  good  roads,  and  all  that,  as  can  be  found 
in  the  Union— much  better  than  they  have  in  Louisiana;  but  the  trouble 
with  us  is  just  this:  that  the  schools  have  been  going  on  over  forty  years 
on  the  district  plan,  and  the  people  think  they  are  good,  about  as  good 
as  schools  can  be,  and  that  the  little  red  schoolhouse  (by  the  way  not  a  red 
one  can  be  found,  for  they  are  all  painted  white,)  is  par  excellence.  I  am 
glad  to  believe  that  it  is  not  necessary  before  this  convention  this  morning 
to  say  anything  in  favor  of  consolidation.  The  thoughtless  selfishness  of 
people,  as  mentioned  by  Mr.  MacDonald,  in  that  each  wants  the  schoolhouse 
next  his  own  door,  and  the  idea  that  schools  are  good  enough,  are  some  of 
the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  consolidation. 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting.  51 

President  Nichols,  of  Manhatlan,  offered  the  suggestion  that  the 
farmers  be  quietly  urged  to  plant  out  orohards  near  their  own  doors, 
then  they  would  not  be  so  insistent  upon  having  the  sclioolhouse 
next  door. 

President  Hill,  of  Emporia,  said,  in  part : 

I  hesitate  to  speak  on  this  subject  because  of  the  fact  that  I  do  not  feel, 
in  the  light  of  this  discussion,  that  there  is  anything  I  have  to  say  of  a 
practical  and  helpful  nature.  What  I  have  to  say  in  regard  to  the  matter  is 
altogether  from  a  theoretical  point  of  view.  But  I  do  welcome  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  express  my  deep  interest  in  this  movement  and  my  thorough  confi¬ 
dence  in  its  ultimate  success  and  the  belief  that  what  has  been  developed 
here  is  in  fact  already  accomplished— will  be  like  seed  that  will  multiply 
thirty,  sixty  and  a  hundred  fold.  The  superintendent  who  becomes  thor¬ 
oughly  enthused  with  the  idea  that  this  is  a  possibility,  and  then  selects  the 
point  of  least  resistance  and  concentrates  his  forces  upon  that  point,  is  able 
to  present  such  an  object-lesson  as  shall  convince  the  people  that  consolida¬ 
tion  is  the  solution  of  the  problem  before  us.  I  believe  today  that  the  great 
educational  problem  of  the  present  is  with  the  rural  school.  I  believe  the 
time  will  come  when  parents  will  feel  that  their  children  are  handicapped  by 
the  environments  of  the  city  and  will  seek  to  place  their  children  in  con¬ 
solidated  country  schools  where  they  will  have  the  advantages  of  country 
life  and  receive  an  education  equal  to  that  given  the  city  boy  and  girl. 

President^ Nichols,  of  Manhattan,  said  : 

I  think  you  know  my  views  on  consolidation,  and  know  that  I  am  radically 
in  favor  of  it.  I  know  that  so  far  as  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College  is 
concerned  we  shall  welcome  the  time  when  we  can  build  a  course  based  upon 
high-school  preparation,  when  every  boy  and  girl  in  Kansas  can  get  a  high- 
school  education  at  his  own  door. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  we  all  know  there  would  be  no  progress  if  conserva¬ 
tism  were  to  rule  and  the  old  regime  or  order  of  things  should  prevail  for¬ 
ever.  The  advantages,  it  seems  to  me,  are  all  with  consolidation.  We  will 
never  get  really  free  education  in  the  high  schools,  education  for  every  boy 
and  girl  in  Kansas,  until  we  do  get  consolidation.  I  hope  that  the  work 
started  here  will  appear  in  print. 

Mr.  Fairchild  llien  introduced  Mr.  Johnson,  superintendent  of 
Jackson  county,  Missouri.  Mr.  Johnson  said : 

I  merely  want  to  ask  this  question  in  regard  to  consolidation :  We  have 
three  consolidated  schools  in  Jackson  county.  One  of  the  greatest  diffi¬ 
culties  is  the  matter  of  expense.  A  meeting  will  be  called,  at  which  I  will 
perhaps  speak,  explaining  ever  so  carefully  the  whole  matter  of  consolida¬ 
tion;  then  the  day  of  the  school  meeting  some  one  who  has  a  selfish  inter¬ 
est  in  the  matter  will  get  up  and  assure  others  who  are  not  very  sure  of 
their  own  figures  that  consolidation  will  triple  their  taxes.  And  one  man 
advocating  that  theory  will  injure  the  cause  in  one  day  more  than  the  super¬ 
intendent  can  overcome  in  a  month. 

Answered  by  Mr.  Fairchild,  that  we  find  the  same  trouble  in 
this  state. 


52 


Proceedings  of 


Mr.  Miller,  of  the  Agricultural  College,  announced  that  he  had 
reserved  the  first  forty-five  minutes  on  the  program  for  each 
farmers’  institute,  which  he  will  hold  in  many  counties  this  fall, 
for  the  use  of  the  county  superintendent  to  present  the  subject  of 
consolidation  to  the  farmers. 

BUSINESS  MEETING. 

The  committee  on  examination  was  called,  and  Mr.  Carter  stated 
that  the  committee  was  ready  to  report.  The  report  was  as  follows: 

We,  your  committee  on  “Questions,”  do  respectfully  submit  the  follow¬ 
ing  recommendations: 

That  the  questions  be  so  skilfully  arranged  that  they  constitute  a  test  of 
the  subject-matter  as  given  by  the  Course  of  Study. 

That  the  test  in  spelling  be  taken  from  the  two  months’  previous  work 
in  the  adopted  test. 

That  the  questions  absolutely  follow  the  Course  of  Study,  and  be  general 
rather  than  particular. 

That  a  committee  of  nine  county  superintendents,  each  of  whom  shall  ar¬ 
range  the  questions  for  one  branch,  be  appointed  by  the  state  superintendent. 

That  the  state  superintendent,  on  account  of  his  broad  knowledge  of  com¬ 
mon-school  work,  reserve  the  privilege  of  revising  any  or  all  of  the  questions 
as  he  sees  fit. 

That  county  superintendents  and  teachers  be  requested  to  take  the  same 
precautionary  measures  to  secure  honest  results  from  these  examinations  as 
in  common-school  and  teachers’  examnations. 

That  a  uniform  fee  of  twenty  five  cents  be  charged  each  applicant  in 
each  county  in  the  state.  Jno.  R.  Carter, 

W.  H.  McDaniel, 

Mary  H.  Kirby, 

Committee . 

The  report  was  adopted  as  read.  The  above  committee  on  ques¬ 
tions  also  included  a  committee,  composed  of  Superintendents  Cod¬ 
ding  and  Kelsey,  on  county  graduation  and  examination.  A  motion 
was  made  and  seconded  that  the  committee  on  county  graduation 
and  examinations  be  granted  further  time  and  leave  to  report  at  the 
holiday  meeting.  Motion  prevailed,-  with  the  understanding  that 
that  portion  included  in  the  report  of  the  committee  on  questions 
will  stand. 

The  chairman  then  called  for  the  report  of  the  committee  on 
resolutions,  Mr.  Vinsonhaler,  chairman.  The  resolutions  were  read, 
and  are  as  follows: 

The  committee  on  resolutions  beg  leave  to  make  the  following  report: 

1  It  is  the  judgment  of  this  committee  that  great  educational  benefit  will 
be  derive  i  from  this  meeting  and  a  better  understanding  of  the  Course  of 
Study  and  of  the  duties  of  county  superintendents  will  result;  and  we  com¬ 
mend  the  wisdom  of  the  state  superintendent  in  calling  together  the  county 


County  Superintendents’  Meeting. 


53 


superintendents  of  the  state  and  thereby  solidifying  and  unifying  them, 
making  their  interests  and  aims  one. 

2.  We  recommend  that  the  basis  of  promotion  from  the  eighth  grade  be 
the  same  in  the  city  and  rural  school,  and  said  promotion  be  based  upon 
grades  made  on  questions  furnished  by  the  state  superintendent. 

3.  We  recommend  that  some  plan  be  adopted  whereby  we  may  secure 
uniformity  in  the  common-school  examinations,  considering  the  following 
points :  Time,  standard  for  passing,  examining  board,  fees. 

4.  And  it  is  resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee  no  stronger 
educational  force  can  be  secured  than  through  the  permanent  organization 
of  the  county  superintendents,  and  we  recommend  that  such  organization  be 
effected  at  this  time;  that  the  state  superintendent  shall  be  ex  officio  chair¬ 
man  ;  that  we  elect  a  vice-chairman,  secretary,  and  treasurer ;  that  a  com¬ 
mittee  be  appointed  to  draft  all  necessary  rules  and  regulations. 

C.  I.  Vinsonhaler,  Chairman , 

Miss  Jennie  Davy, 

F.  I.  Hinshaw, 

Committee. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Hamilton,  properly  seconded,  the  resolutions 
were  adopted  as  read.  Motion  carried  unanimously. 

On  motion  the  following  officers  were  elected :  Assistant  State 
Superintendent  C.  C.  Starr  was  elected  vice-president ;  Mrs.  Maude 
E.  Funston,  of  Iola,  secretary,  and  Supt.  James  A.  Ray,  of  Marion, 
treasurer. 

Superintendent  Fairchild  then  announced  the  following  com¬ 
mittee  of  nine  to  prepare  examination  questions  for  the  following 
year,  it  being  understood  that  this  committee  is  to  prepare  lists  of 
test  questions  based  upon  the  Course  of  Study  for  our  common 
schools.  These  lists  of  questions  are  to  serve  as  a  test  of  the  work 
gone  over  once  every  two  months:  Supt.  Geo.  T.  Codding,  West¬ 
moreland;  Supt.  C.  W.  Good,  Hiawatha;  Supt.  A.  W.  Hamilton, 
Hutchinson;  Supt.  John  R.  Carter,  Topeka;  Supt.W.  H.  McDaniel, 
El  Dorado;  Supt.  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Kirby,  Lyndon;  Supt.  A.  J.  Stan¬ 
ley,  Lincoln;  Supt.  C.  O.  Bowman,  Lawrence;  Supt.  Miss  Margaret 
R.  McFarland,  Olathe. 

Superintendent  Fairchild  then  made  a  few  closing  remarks,  in 
which,  among  other  things,  he  said : 

I  have  been  endeavoring  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  children 
represented  here  this  morning,  and  I  think  this  number  would  reach  300,000. 
They  are  represented  by  you  who  have  their  interests  and  their  welfare  at 
heart.  We  can  only  perform  the  best  service  through  an  awakening  of 
public  sentiment  and  the  directing  of  public  attention  toward  and  for  the 
country  school.  Everything  that  this  department  can  do  to  further  the  in¬ 
terests  of  the  country  school  will  be  done. 

Meeting  adjourned. 


3  0112  105277369 


